BRICS Summit In South Africa Begins: August 22-24

The 16th BRICS Summit will begin on Tuesday, August 22, and will last until August 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The presidents of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa will attend, while Russia will be presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, with President Putin participating in the work remotely.

President of China Xi Jingping is heading to South Africa, where he will reappear in public since July 31. Xi has not visited Africa since 2018 and will preside over China-Africa leaders’ dialogue with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“These will be days of hard work to strengthen our bloc, build common programs between the BRICS countries, and strive for even greater cooperation for the development of African countries,” the President of Brazil Luis Inacio Lula da Silva elaborated on social media, where he also resurrected the idea of a common currency for the strongest economies in the global south capable of fighting the dominance of the dollar in international affairs. The new currency “will enable more exchanges between countries like Brazil and South Africa, without depending on the currency of a third country,” Lula explained. “Cooperation between the countries of the southern hemisphere is necessary to eliminate inequalities, the climate crisis, and for a more balanced and just world

In the past few hours, Lula has also reaffirmed his commitment to peace in Ukraine, expressing regret for the absence of the Russian leader, “We will discuss such global issues as peace and the fight against inequality, and I would like to discuss this with President Putin personally.”

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, whose participation was questionable until the last moment, will be present as well. “The summit will provide an opportunity to review the progress of the initiatives put forward by the group and determine future directions,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “The Prime Minister will also participate in a special event ‘BRICS – Africa Outreach’ and ‘BRICS Plus Dialogue’ that is organized after the BRICS summit and will be attended by other countries invited by South Africa. During the visit, Modi will hold bilateral meetings with some of the leaders present in Johannesburg.”