BRICS: Addressing Global Challenges Through Joint Efforts

Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS group of countries and former president of Brazil, attended an international conference convened at the famous Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles for Peaceful Coexistence, which guide the Chinese government’s approach to foreign policy.

Dilma Rousseff, in her press statement released at the end of the International Conference, emphasized that “it is necessary to solve global problems by working together: the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence proposed by China have facilitated the transition from a zero-sum mentality to seeking shared prosperity in a multipolar world.” Rousseff also emphasized the need to cooperate in the fight against ever-growing inequality, especially in the context of “a new stage of alarming fragmentation and the division of the world into blocs that has emerged on the global stage.” “The five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence,” the former Brazilian President concluded, “are embodied primarily in South-South cooperation,” expressing appreciation for the initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to strengthen solidarity among the countries of the Global South.

On June 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced BRICS’ decision to “take a pause for thought and temporarily suspend the process of accession of new member countries.”