Russia
Source: brics-russia2024.ru

Colleagues,

Friends,

It is a privilege for me to welcome you at the Foreign Ministry. I am absolutely sure that our colleagues from both chambers of the Federal Assembly are doing everything they can and will do their best to ensure that you enjoy as much of our traditional Russian hospitality and cordiality as possible.

I know that your programme in Moscow includes working, as well as cultural events. Hopefully, you will be leaving with positive memories, as it always happens whenever somebody visits us.

I am certain that you have been following major events like the Games of the Future and the World Youth Festival. They demonstrated just how relevant gatherings of this kind are, since they are free from any attempts to politicise everything, from sports to arts.

Today, the world has reached a decisive turning point, a major threshold in its development. This is attributable to the ongoing emergence of a multipolar world order. We can see that countries of the Global South and East, or the Global Majority, as we call it, are committed to further strengthening their international standing by choosing the path of independence and focusing their foreign policies on pursuing their national interests. It is with great satisfaction that we note the firm commitment by the Global Majority to reforming the global governance architecture in fairness and justice.

We have been consistent in advocating a unifying international agenda for putting in place favourable conditions and creating an enabling environment for all countries and nations without exception, rather than for a small group of the chosen ones. Unfortunately, the US-led collective West has been persisting in its attempts to postpone and dial back these inevitable changes, if not reverse this objective historical process altogether.

The United States and its allies proceed in their destructive policy from some kind of rules, as they call them. They were the ones who created them, which in fact amounts to using double standards. This has already caused instability in many countries and even across entire regions. To preserve their hegemony, the West has been extensively seeking to divide and rule as per the infamous colonial-era principle. They have been intentionally fanning the flames of interethnic, interfaith and interstate conflict, while using a wide array of coercive measures against those who disagree, as you know very well. This can range from outright military invasions to illegal unilateral sanctions and international media shaming.

I have no doubt that these selfish policies will never succeed in containing the new global centres of gravity in Eurasia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. An irreversible historical process has been set in motion, and the numbers are there to prove this point, among other things. In fact, the global balance of power is shifting. For example, Russia emerged as the Europe's largest and the world's top five economy in terms of purchasing power parity. By the same token, BRICS countries left the Group of Seven behind in terms of aggregate GDP by purchasing power parity even before our association expanded its ranks. No one can stop these processes. The trends are there, and experts understand what this means.

Against this background, we think it logical and natural that increasingly more Global South countries display growing interest in BRICS and its activities. The thing is that our association is not attempting to turn back the objective historical processes involved in the emergence of policentricity. On the contrary, BRICS in every way seeks to facilitate and head them, but not in its narrowly selfish interests. Rather it is promoting the interests of all its members (and not only them) as well as the interests of all countries that want to work with BRICS.

Our cooperation is based on an equitable dialogue, respect for each country choosing its own way of development, regard for the interests of each other, and an orientation towards a collective search for solutions to all modern problems. Let me say without exaggeration that today BRICS speaks for the interests of the entire non-Western world. The decision to expand BRICS adopted in Johannesburg in August 2023 was a real breakthrough. It was then that our leaders agreed to admit new countries, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joining as full members on January 1, 2024. Each of these nations has a considerable economic potential, plays an important role both in its region and internationally, and, what is most important, shares the basic values of BRICS that unite us, including the spirit of solidarity, equality, mutual respect, openness and consensus.

The harmonious integration of the new participants into the existing BRICS mechanisms is one of the main priorities of the Russian Chairmanship in 2024. We are doing our best towards this. The results of events at the level of sherpas, sous-sherpas and other formats demonstrate that the "new recruits" are making their unique contribution to the common effort on all the main items of the agenda. We hope that this activity will only mount and will soon be embodied in new practical initiatives to be considered by our association.

Yet another important decision approved at the Johannesburg Summit was to identify the parameters and criteria for a new category of "BRICS partner states." This work is being done by the sherpas and sous-sherpas. Its results should be submitted to the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting scheduled for June of this year in Nizhny Novgorod, where recommendations will be formulated for our leaders ahead of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

We have no doubt that inviting a broad range of developing countries to cooperate with BRICS will further consolidate the Global Majority's effort to solve common problems in everyone's interests. The objectives facing the Russian BRICS Chairmanship include enhancing international coordination between the BRICS countries and their allies at international platforms, primarily at the UN and the G20.

We regard the coordination of the Joint Statement on behalf of BRICS at the Sixth Session of the UN Environmental Assembly, held in Nairobi in late February and early March, 2024, as an important result. We think it essential to go on with this practice.

In preparation for the summit in Kazan, we are placing special emphasis on expanding counter-terrorism cooperation with our partners. The BRICS Working Group on Counter-Terrorism is active, including its five subgroups. The recent tragic events at Crocus City Hall near Moscow have once again highlighted the need for antiterrorist specialists and legislators to intensify joint efforts to combat this global evil. Parliaments play a major role in ensuring the timely update and consolidation of the legislative framework for law enforcement to take necessary action against terrorists.

We also plan to expand anti-drug cooperation. We have a shared agenda, which includes joint steps to fight corruption, money laundering, and financing of terrorism, and to search for common responses to challenges and threats in the information space. Enhancing cyber security is another current priority, as is ensuring favourable conditions for the member states' development, building up their innovation, technology and human resources.

We will promote the BRICS members' role in the international monetary and financial system, deeper interbank cooperation and the transformation of the international payments system to expand the use of our national currencies in mutual trade. Just recently, our representatives at the World Bank, including top officials, their advisers and deputies, met in Washington. All the countries present here were represented at those meetings. The need to reform the international monetary and financial system is becoming increasingly urgent. In fact, it is long overdue. Based on objective macroeconomic financial indicators, the five original BRICS members should have had a greater share in the capital and more votes at international monetary and financial institutions; the United States' share should have shrunk according to objective economic indicators. However, the United States is trying to stall reform at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to avoid a revision of quotas and votes, keeping its share that enables Washington to block most decisions unilaterally. This is unfair and undemocratic. We will work on these issues with particular enthusiasm. This is important for our practical actions.

Speaking about bank cooperation, I would like to mention the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), which has its specific features. Not only the group's member countries but also non-members can be its shareholders. In the past few years, we noticed attempts by Western representatives to influence the bank's operation and to guide it towards the implementation of tasks that are not stipulated in its charter. I believe that today everyone is aware of the importance of preventing these attempts and strictly complying with the bank's objectives set out in its charter.

We put a high value on the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian contacts. This allows us to develop horizontal ties between our citizens and various segments of our civil societies. We are preparing a number of events in this context, such as the BRICS Games and the Intervision international song festival with the countries that are interested in promoting such international forums to support and develop national arts in all our countries. Other events on our plans are aimed at creating a film academy next year, which will award annual film prizes under the umbrella of BRICS, BRICS Plus and their associates.

Regarding humanitarian ties, we are focused on cooperation between the BRICS countries' parliaments. Interparliamentary dialogue has long become a vital element of multilateral diplomacy, and our group is no exception in this regard. The idea of launching cooperation between the BRICS countries' legislative bodies was formulated in 2013, when our association held its fifth summit. The first parliamentary forum was subsequently held in Moscow in 2015. We will mark its 10th anniversary next year. Since 2015, our lawmakers have met regularly. I would like to point out that the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Johannesburg in August 2023 was a new stage in the development of our interparliamentary ties.

We would like to mention active cooperation between BRICS MPs at multilateral events, such as the IPU Assembly held in Geneva in March 2024. A meeting of the heads of BRICS delegations held on the sidelines of the assembly to compare views on the current operation of the IPU Assembly and to discuss our plans for the coming period was mutually beneficial. I believe that such coordination at universal parliamentary platforms is very useful. During this visit, you will discuss draft documents and the practical aspects of organising the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, scheduled to be held in St Petersburg on July 11-12.

The Foreign Ministry will do whatever is necessary for a comfortable and fruitful work of the parliamentarians.

Australia
Source: eastasiaforum.org

The origins of BRICS — a bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and, as of 2024, new members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — can be traced back to a 2001 publication by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill titled 'Building Better Global Economic BRICs'. O'Neill argued that Brazil, Russia, India and China were poised to play an increasingly significant role in the global economy.

His prediction was that by 2050, these countries would collectively account for 40 per cent of the world's economic output. In reality, from 2012 to 2022 China alone has accounted for around a quarter of global GDP growth, and the BRICS countries together contributed over 45 per cent.

BRIC was officially launched in 2009 and was renamed BRICS in 2010 when South Africa joined the group. Since then, trade relations have clearly grown, but in a very unbalanced manner.

Most of the growth in trade has been China-centric, with the contribution from the rest of BRICS remaining quite flat until recently. The recent increase is mostly explained by India, which has experienced an acceleration in economic growth. BRICS members are increasingly intertwined with China as far as trade is concerned, but the remaining members have very few ties among themselves. Bilateral trade between BRICS members other than China remains extremely low.

China's sheer economic size — five times greater than India's — and China's increasing assertiveness in foreign policy explain China's dominance of BRICS. BRICS countries have increasingly similar positions to China at the United Nations. This is not only the case for issues within China's sphere, such as Xinjiang-related resolutions, but also more global issues such as resolutions on the invasion of Ukraine and the Israel–Palestine crisis.

The only exception on Ukraine has been Brazil, which voted in line with the West in March 2022. But Brazil's diplomatic stance on Ukraine has become much more blurred since then and its position has fully aligned with China's on the conflict in Gaza.

China has been the leading proponent of expanding BRICS to BRICS+. The main reason for expansion was to make BRICS more representative of the developing world and give it a stronger voice on the global stage.

But the six countries invited to join — which has become five after Argentina's withdrawal — are quite heterogenous. Some are net creditors (such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), while others are net debtors and in a very weak financial position. Half of them are large exporters of fossil fuels (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran). Ethiopia and Egypt stand out as members from Africa, a continent that has become increasingly important for China's and India's foreign policy.

The questions that arise are what BRICS can achieve with such a heterogeneous group of members, and whether it will be able to maintain its objectives after expansion.

The group has called for comprehensive reform of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to make the institutions more representative, accountable and effective in addressing global challenges. BRICS has also consistently advocated for comprehensive reform of the United Nations, arguing that its current structure with five permanent members holding veto power does not represent the interests of all member states.

One increasingly important objective of BRICS is to become the new platform for developing countries to voice their concerns and interests. The international financial architecture is an area where members' positions can clearly be aligned. BRICS promotes the use of local currencies in trade between its member states, especially in trade with China, as well as supporting rules-based, open and transparent global trade. The expansion of its membership evidently supports this objective.

The actual impact of BRICS expansion will depend on several factors, including the group's ability to overcome its internal challenges and the response of the West. Still, the smooth expansion is a clear sign that the global balance of power is shifting and that developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in global affairs.

How BRICS will fare over time depends on several factors. First and foremost is how China's power evolves. There is increasing consensus that China's long-term growth will continue to decelerate, which will reduce the opportunities that the Chinese market has to offer for BRICS members and others. A second important factor is how BRICS members and their populations come to perceive China.

The heterogeneity of BRICS is not only economic but also political. The elephant in the room is India, which finds itself in an increasingly uncomfortable position in groupings that are dominated by China. Still, the group's diversity and its members' respective comparative advantages could turn out to be a boon not only for China but also for India.

BRICS, which started as a primarily economic initiative to mark the transfer of economic power to the emerging world, has grown into an important geopolitical grouping. China's centrality and the diversity of its members present both challenges and opportunities.

The future of the grouping is uncertain, given its heavy economic dependence on China and the deteriorating sentiment towards China among its members. India's fast growth and increasing geopolitical heft create additional challenges for the continuation of a China-centric BRICS.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero is Senior Research Fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel and Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

A version of this article was first published here in EconPol Forum.


https://doi.org/10.59425/eabc.1712959200

Russia
Source: en.interaffairs.ru

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's opening remarks during a meeting with President of China Xi Jinping, Beijing, April 9, 2024:



Mr President,

Thank you for taking the time to receive our delegation. This is yet another confirmation of how much personal attention you pay to the development of cooperation with the Russian Federation.

It is my pleasure and honour to pass best regards from President of Russia Vladimir Putin. He highly appreciated your greetings on the outcome of the presidential election in March. The election was a testament to the Russian citizens' wide support of the results achieved under Vladimir Putin's leadership in the previous years, with respect to Russia's comprehensive development, strengthening its sovereignty, ensuring its security and territorial integrity, and with respect to our foreign policy. One of our priorities is strengthening the multi-dimensional cooperation with the People's Republic of China, as you have just said, along the lines of leaders' diplomacy.

My colleague and friend, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and I try to follow your example. We had rather constructive talks today. President Vladimir Putin's re-election guarantees the succession in our relations and our commitment to further progress across all areas.

Notably, it is thanks to the leaders' diplomacy that Russia-China links have demonstrated stability and ability to adapt to any, even most challenging, conditions. Our bilateral relations are rooted in mutual support when it comes to the matters concerning the fundamental interests of the two countries.

Russia-China trade has hit a new high. The Year of Russian and Chinese Culture has been launched. The foreign political ties between Moscow and Beijing drive the increasingly popular efforts to build a more just multi-polar world order and ensure the security across Eurasia. We cooperate within the SCO. The EAEU is actively developing its cooperation with the Belt and Road initiative. BRICS is taking the centre stage in modern world politics, strengthening its authority and gaining more supporters who wish to join this association in one role or another, and consolidating the countries of the Global South. We spoke about this in detail today.

As the People's Republic of China is marking its 75th anniversary, we would like to express our highest praise and admiration at the success achieved under your leadership over the years and mainly over the past decade. We are sincerely delighted at these achievements as they belong to our friends. We have noted that not everybody in the world share the same attitude and instead seek to hold back China and Russia's development.

In 1949, the Soviet Union was the first state to recognise the new China. We have become allies since then. These 75 years have shown the importance, for us and the entire world, of mutual trust, neighbourliness, friendship, equality and mutually beneficial partnership-something that, as you and President Vladimir Putin stressed, outperforms the blocs dating back to the Cold War era and does not target any third party. I hope we will properly celebrate the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. We are ready to work on new strategic objectives set by our leaders.

Russia
Source: www.mid.ru

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express one more time my gratitude to my colleague and friend, PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for his invitation and the hospitable reception given to our delegation.

Yesterday and today, we held detailed and specific talks on a broad range of issues of interest to both sides. As Minister Wang Yi has just noted, we focused on the schedule of top-level contacts, because the leaders' diplomacy is, without any exaggeration, the central element of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. It is thanks to the leaders' diplomacy in the first place that our bilateral relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and continue to develop dynamically amid a very challenging situation in the world.

As I said, the focus was on the schedule of top-level contacts and the upcoming meetings between our leaders on the sidelines of various international events, including the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October, and the SCO Summit in Astana in June. There will certainly be other opportunities for maintaining our regular political dialogue.

We also discussed foreign ministry contacts. We have just signed in your presence yet another plan of consultations between our foreign ministries for 2024. We have touched upon briefly certain issues of intergovernmental cooperation in practical areas. This set of tasks will be considered in more detail later this year during the upcoming meetings of five intergovernmental commissions led by deputy prime ministers to be held as part of preparations for the regular prime ministerial meeting.

The issues we are addressing in the economy, trade, investment, and innovative technology are directly related to the effort to establish a fair multipolar world order free from diktat, hegemony, and neo-colonial and colonial practices, which are being used to the utmost extent by the United States and the rest of the collective West that has bowed without question to Washington's will.

China and Russia will continue to defend the need to rectify this situation in international economic relations and to be committed to democratising these relations and returning to the principles that were proclaimed a while ago and consist in the requirement to respect the market processes, fair competition, inviolability of property, presumption of innocence, and much more, which the West is flouting in the grossest of manners by its practical steps expressed in imposing illegal sanctions on a number of states, including Russia. But they are beginning to use the same policy with regard to the People's Republic of China, including in a bid to restrict its economic and technological development capabilities, or, speaking plainly, to get rid of a rival.

We discussed the Russia-China cross-cultural years which will start soon. Additionally, we explored various other areas of cultural cooperation, including the planning of new projects such as the Intervision international song contest, the Open Eurasian Film Award, and several sporting events. Building upon the events held in Kazan in February-March, such as the Games of the Future, in which Chinese athletes took part, forthcoming events include the BRICS Games, the Children of Asia International Sports Games, and the World Friendship Games. Unlike certain other events, numerous upcoming sporting events will rely on the foundational ideals of Olympism that are enshrined in the Olympic Charter. It is regrettable that the current leadership of the International Olympic Committee disregards these principles in favour of appeasing certain hegemonic powers that strive to preserve their hegemony at all costs.

Minister Wang Yi mentioned that we discussed the forthcoming 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries. As a reminder, the Soviet Union was the first to recognise the People's Republic of China the very next day it was established and helped it rebuild the nation. We agreed to prepare a series of commemorative events to mark this anniversary. We also explored potential initiatives for marking the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism next year. It's important to recognise the pivotal role played by the peoples of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China in defeating Germany and militaristic Japan.

For obvious reasons, we focused on aligning our strategies on the global stage. This coordination relies on largely overlapping interests and approaches to key international challenges. Given Russia's current BRICS chairmanship, much attention was paid to the future of the alliance with more members to join it, the establishment of a new category of partner nations, and the general agenda of the upcoming summit in Kazan scheduled for October. The Council of Foreign Ministers will meet in Nizhny Novgorod in June. Mr Wang Yi confirmed his participation in it. At this meeting, we will review pivotal issues to be considered by our respective leaders.

We discussed cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. In June, the People's Republic of China will replace Kazakhstan as the SCO chair. There are promising opportunities to align the SCO agendas for advancing this vast Eurasian region with the BRICS programmes, which advocate similar ideals and principles on a global scale. This alignment serves to advance the interests of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, especially amid the declining Western globalisation model which lost almost all of its credibility.

Of course, we also addressed bilateral cooperation across other platforms, such as the UN, the G20, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). We have close, mutually beneficial, and productive ties in each of the above organisations.

We spoke about the current state of affairs regarding the Ukrainian crisis. We are grateful to our Chinese friends for their unbiased, balanced position and their readiness to play a positive role in the political and diplomatic settlement. The well-known "12 points" that China put forward in 2023 clearly articulate the need, first, to take into account the root causes of this conflict, and second, in efforts to resolve it, to seek to eliminate these causes, first and foremost, in the context of ensuring equal and indivisible security, including in Europe and in the entire world. Chinese friends make it clear that it is necessary to take into account the legitimate concerns of all parties involved, first and foremost their security. In this context, my Chinese colleagues and I have confirmed the conclusion about the futility of any international efforts that do not take into account Russia's position but completely ignore it and promote an absolutely empty, ultimatum-like "Zelensky's peace formula," and are therefore completely detached from reality.

We spoke at length about the tasks of ensuring security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region against the background of the US policy of creating closed military-political alliances with a limited set of members. They have a blatant anti-Chinese and anti-Russian bias and, among other things, are aimed at breaking the security architecture that has been developed for many decades around ASEAN according to the very formats that this Association has offered to its partners, which are based on inclusiveness, consensus, mutual respect and rejection of unilateral actions. All this does not suit the United States and its allies. They, as I said, are promoting bloc approaches here and declaring the need to introduce the North Atlantic Alliance into the region.

With regard to the situation around Taiwan, which is an integral part of China, we are unanimous with Beijing in rejecting any interference from outside, as it is an internal affair of the People's Republic of China. We talked about the situation on the Korean peninsula. We are interested in peace and stability in this region, just like our Chinese friends.

We discussed in detail the Middle East settlement and what is happening around the Gaza Strip. We also have common positions here, which we defend at the UN Security Council.

In a broader context, we exchanged views on the prospect of forming a new security structure in Eurasia against the background of the complete stagnation and self-destruction of Euro-Atlantic mechanisms.

The talks took place in an atmosphere of friendship, traditional for Russian-Chinese relations, and once again demonstrated the commonality of our countries' views on major global developments and our desire to strengthen bilateral ties in the interest of peace and stability in the region and on the entire planet. We will continue our dialogue on the basis of the plans we have just endorsed in your presence. I once again express my gratitude to our Chinese friends.

Question: The collective West is using aggressive dual deterrence methods against Russia and China to prevent their progress and to hinder the implementation of the sovereign policies. Are you and your Chinese partners considering dual deterrence response measures? What could they be?

Sergey Lavrov: I won't give away a secret if I say that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came up with the formula of "double counteraction to double deterrence" yesterday. Our respective leaders, President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping, have repeatedly underscored Russia and China's resolve to counter the attempts to slow down the formation of a multipolar world and the long overdue processes of democratisation and justice that are knocking at the door of the modern world order. The United States and its allies are trying to stop them in an effort to perpetuate their unjust position within the international system. We remember how our leaders formulated the task of standing back to back and shoulder to shoulder against the attempts to slow down the objective course of history.

My colleague covered in detail the specific economic problems created by the unlawful policy of unilateral sanctions. We will address them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO. At a time when the United States and its satellites are capable of disrupting steady financing, logistics, transport and investment chains at any moment, it is time to think about how these issues, such as transition to national currencies, creating alternative payment platforms, including the decisions in this regard adopted within BRICS, and the activities of regional organisations such as the above-mentioned SCO and CELAC, can be considered and addressed by different entities.

The West has proved that the system of the international financial and economic ties that it created and offered to the rest of the world is unreliable, because the West can at any moment punish anyone who disagrees with its neocolonial policy.

These processes are underway in almost all spheres of public life, including the economy and security. We share our focus on strengthening security in Eurasia. For a long time now, there has been a Euro-Atlantic security entity in the form of NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They have crossed themselves out from the list of relevant organisations that can be used to conduct meaningful talks and to agree on things based on a balance of interests.

Considering this, forming Eurasian security is an issue that needs to be addressed. President Vladimir Putin mentioned this in his address to the Federal Assembly. We have agreed with our Chinese friends to begin a dialogue on this matter and involve other like-minded countries.

Question: I would like to talk about the drone strikes by Ukraine against the Zaporozhye NPP. The situation clearly calls for decisive action. What may the response be like?

Sergey Lavrov: With regard to another terrorist strike by the Ukrainian regime, this time on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the Foreign Ministry, our representative to the IAEA, and our representative to the UN Security Council have made statements. We will bring this issue to special meetings of the IAEA Board of Governors and the UN Security Council. We will insist on obtaining direct, without any prevarication, assessments of the Ukrainian regime's actions.

When we agreed to have the IAEA experts to be the permanently present at the ZNPP, we were guided, among other things, by the need to provide an objective assessment of what is happening there, how the plant is managed, and how nuclear and physical safety is ensured. We assumed that such attacks against Europe's largest nuclear power plant would be documented. So far, the provocations by the Ukrainian regime have, to our deep regret, caused only "regret" and "concern" in the statements by IAEA Director General Rafaelo Grossi and his staff. They failed to state the obvious which is from where and by whom the terrorist attacks were plotted and carried out. I believe this time they will not get away with it.

We are interested in cooperating with the IAEA and the UN Secretariat, but we will push for them to provide an honest recognition of what is happening not only around ZNPP, but around Ukraine in general as well.

So far, the assessments provided by international officials of all aspects of the developments unfolding around this country and within the special military operation in response to the hybrid war unleashed against us by the West with the hands of the Ukrainians have been, to put it mildly, one-sided. This state of affairs should be redressed. Unfortunately, it reflects the situation where the secretariats of numerous intergovernmental and interstate organisations become subordinate to the West and overstaffed with employees from the Western countries to the detriment of fair geographical representation of the Global Majority countries. We raised this issue last year. We will do our best to push forward the reform of this system.

Russia
Source: russiancouncil.ru

The concept of 'Three Poles of the Cold' (or simply the Three Poles) has not yet received an unambiguous interpretation among the students of political science. For some, mainly climatologists and glaciologists [1] from the Greater Himalayan region, this is all about only one Pole of the Cold, i.e. the Himalayas. These scientists are mainly interested in the factors that cause the melting of glaciers in this mountain range, as well as in the climatic and socio-economic consequences that the process has for Asian nations. For others, it is important to establish the relationship between the natural and climatic processes occurring in the Arctic, the Antarctic and the Himalayas to arrive at a global climate model. For international diplomats and political scientists, it is more interesting to see how the positive experience of scientific and environmental co-operation gained in the Arctic and Antarctic can be applied to the Himalayas and Tibet in solving the existing bi- and multilateral problems in this region.

To clear up a certain mess in this diversity of interpretations and understand what practical benefits can be derived for Russia from the discussions around the Three Poles, it is necessary to review its history and determine the current political, diplomatic and scientific status.

This concept originally existed in the form of such notion as the Third Pole of the Cold, which is understood as a huge region that includes the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush and the Tibetan plateau. This region has seen dramatic processes of glacier melting and large-scale weather changes over the past 50 years. In the meantime, the given region is home to 14 of the world's highest peaks and 100,000 square kilometers of glaciers, where 10 great rivers flow or have their sources, as well as to one-fifth of the world's population. Not only does the melting of ice in these mountain ranges increase the risk of flooding in the surrounding countries, some of which are thousands of kilometers away, but it also affects monsoon cycles in the Indian Ocean basin and parts of the Pacific Ocean. This, in turn, affects agriculture, maritime shipping and transportation infrastructure in many Asian nations.

Surely, the Third Pole has long been subject of study, primarily in the nations of the Greater Himalayan. For that, the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research was founded within the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2014, Chinese academics initiated the program called The Third Pole Environment. Within its framework, 14 meteorological stations connected into one network were established. In 2019, the PRC launched the second phase of this program, which anticipated the construction of 20 additional weather stations and the involvement of scientists from Norway and Nepal. The geography of the program was expanded to include the Iranian Plateau, the Caucasus and even the Carpathians (apparently, for the sake of better understanding the way similar processes are unfolding there).

In India, similar research is conducted by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) at Dehradun. The National Center for Polar and Ocean Research, under the auspices of the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences, studies all three poles and promotes the view that India is a "tripolar state."

Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is home to the International Center for Integrated Mountain Studies, also focusing on the Third Pole.

Quite quickly, the world academic community came to the awareness that it is necessary to study the mutual influence of natural and climatic processes occurring at different poles of cold. The initiator of the scientific dialogue between Northern European and Asian scientists in this field was the former President of Iceland Olaf Grimson. At his invitation, a seminar on the third pole, the Himalayas, was organized at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik in 2011. In 2013, a similar workshop was held in Dehradun. Notably, it was attended by a representative delegation from China, which was seen by its participants as a desire of New Delhi and Beijing to start a dialogue on regional issues from their scientific "component."

D Suba Chandran:
Polar Regions Offer Enough Space for India and Russia to Map What Nations Can Do Together
Since 2013, the dialogue between Northern European and Asian scientists on the Arctic and the Third Pole has been transferred to the format of the Polar Circle international forum initiated by Mr. Grimson. In addition to the forum's regular sessions, conducted each October in Reykjavik, the Polar Circle is held in other places as well. For example, the Third Pole has been discussed at the Forum sessions in Shanghai (2019), Greenland (2022) and Dubai (2023).

At the Polar Circle session in Reykjavik (2017), Indian scientists from the National Antarctic and Ocean Research Center drew the attention of the forum participants to the need to study the role of the southern pole of cold in global climate change, or its impact on the monsoon cycles in the Indian Ocean, to be more exact.

It should be noted that several Asian nations (India, China, Japan) joined the Arctic research rather late (in the 2000s), while they had been studying the Antarctic prior to that. In this regard, it is quite natural for them to compare these two regions in terms of the natural processes taking place there.

Russia, Norway, the U.S. and the UK have been closely studying the North and South Poles since the 19th century, and it has always been quite natural for these states to take an integrated approach to polar research. This "bipolar approach" was reflected even at the institutional level, notably within the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (Saint Petersburg, Russia), the Norwegian Polar Institute (Tromsø, Norway), the Polar Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington, the U.S.), the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) at Cambridge University (UK).

However, the idea of a comprehensive study of the role of all three poles in the natural and climatic processes on the planet has never been come to fruition. There is still no significant international scientific project that would integrate the research of all Three Poles and link together all the diversity of processes transpiring there. Nor has it been possible to unite the efforts of scientists from the countries of the Third Pole—the Himalayas and researchers from other regions—to jointly study at least one pole. Thus, cooperation between Chinese and Indian scientists on all the Three Poles remains merely symbolic. Both sides prefer to conduct Himalayan-Tibetan, Arctic and Antarctic research mainly at the national level or separately—say, with European and Russian scientists, but not in collaborations with each other.

In the Anglo-Saxon countries with strong traditions of geopolitical thought (Alfred Mahan in the U.S. and Sir Halford Mackinder in the UK), "bipolar" political-strategic projects were developed in parallel with scientific initiatives. It is symptomatic that the first American document on the U.S. polar strategy in the post-Cold War era, adopted by the Clinton administration in June 1994, zeroed in on linking the Arctic and Antarctic policies. The White House memorandum signed by Donald Trump in June 2020 was aimed at ensuring American hegemony in both polar regions, too.

In the UK, the Arctic and Antarctic strategies are formulated separately at the official level, but the research policy in these regions is managed from a single center, the Natural Environment Research Council. In 2016, a formally independent think tank called the Polar Research and Policy Initiative was established in London to study both polar regions and to involve not only Western, but also BRICS nations (especially India) as well as small island states. In 2021, the UK's leading think tank, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, initiated a project on a British "bipolar strategy" aimed at influencing the government and Parliament to consider Arctic and Antarctic issues in close conjunction with each other.

G A V Reddy, Ajay Sah:
India Seeks Arctic Partnerships with Like-Minded Nations
In recent years, especially with the growing tensions at the two poles—the North Pole and the Himalayan Pole—the Three Poles concept has been gaining popularity in India, China, Russia, and in some Northern European countries. Its purpose is not so much to study the natural and climatic processes in these regions as to encourage cooperation between the states involved in Arctic, Antarctic, and Himalayan-Tibetan issues.

The Russian interpretation of the concept stakes on the possibility of using the experience of Arctic and Antarctic cooperation to improve relations between India and China, including the settlement of territorial disputes between the two countries in Tibet as one of the most important tasks. Both are important for Russia as strategic partners and "drivers" of BRICS, a very significant integration project for Moscow. Russia is not happy about the mounting rivalry between New Delhi and Beijing on regional and global issues and especially about India's drift away from Moscow towards the West.

Russia believes that the Three Poles project could help launch informal dialogue between India and China—first, on scientific issues related to all three regions, and this could then lead to more serious agreements between them, including the resolution of border conflicts. The logic behind that initiative is placing the two sides, which are not yet ready for direct dialogue on contentious issues, in a context of multilateral cooperation, where the conflicting states would learn to interact with each other (albeit indirectly) on a regular basis. In the course of such interaction, the rivals would learn to better understand each other's interests and motivations, gradually building up mutual trust. The Arctic and the Antarctic, with its long experience of international cooperation in science, biodiversity conservation and environmental protection, are best suited for this purpose. Spreading the best practices of cooperation from these regions of the planet to the "roof" or "top of the world," as the Himalayas, Tibet and Pamir, are sometimes referred to, would be a desirable and possible outcome of the Three Poles project.

This concept also receives some support at the Russian Foreign Ministry. Speaking at the session "Multilateral Cooperation in the Arctic: Interests and Strategies" on the sidelines of the 5th International Municipal Forum of BRICS+ states, held in Saint Petersburg in November 2023, Nikolay Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Cooperation, said: "The role of the poles in the world climate system is only increasing. We have three storehouses of the cold on the planet—the Arctic, the Antarctic and the high-mountainous Himalayas. It is worth thinking about a common project for the BRICS nations, which would aim to form a scientific platform based on the existing experience in exploring these regions."

Given that the "old" BRICS members—Brazil and South Africa—have a rich experience in Antarctic research and are increasingly interested in the Arctic, while the "newcomers" to the integration project include the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran, willing to participate in studying the Third Pole (some of them being also keen on the Arctic), the Three Poles project has real prospects of becoming a common cause for this group, some sort of "integrator" and "driver" of BRICS for the foreseeable future. In the year of Russia's chairmanship in BRICS, it is time to take the initiative into our own hands.

South Africa
Source: www.iol.co.za

Jaya Josie, Advisor China Africa Center, Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS); Adjunct Professor University of the Western Cape and University of Venda

The recently published (2024) Government Work Report (GWR) in China presented several economic targets for the country. The key indicator target of the GDP remained unchanged from 2023 at 5%. The GWR noted that the GDP is in a recovery mode and therefore the target was not changed.

China is already encountering pressure from the USA to curb its production capacity and exports to Russia by Chinese companies. These sentiments were articulated during the recent visit by the USA Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen on 8 April 2024.

China's response to these statements from its Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning was quick to defend China's sovereign right to defend its companies and, trade with its long standing partners. Russia, in fact has been diversifying its foreign trade to the Asia-Pacific market where China is fast becoming a key trading partner.

In 2023, according to customs data from China, Russia-China trade increased to a record level of US$240 billion, far exceeding the amount of US$ 240 billion set by the trading partners. Mao Ning's remarks only further emphasised China's position of continuity in China's foreign policy decisions taken at the recent Two Sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC).

China's foreign policy position was recently demonstrated in the relationship with its BRICS partners and, was further underlined by a visit to Beijing by the Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on 9 April 2024 to meet with the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. The visit, immediately after the visit by USA Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellan, underscored the growing economic and trade ties between China and Russia.

At the meeting the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers agreed to initiate talks with respect to the Eurasian security issues, sanctions concerns within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The BRICS + group of countries is perceived globally as an emerging centre of economic cooperation and a viable alternative to the current global economic framework.

In anticipation of further threats of sanctions the foreign ministers discussed a proposal by Minister Wang Yi to use multilateral formats such as BRICS + and the SCO as a mechanisms to overcome sanctions. The foreign ministers meeting noted that none of the BRICS + members have joined the sanctions and, in fact, many of the BRICS + countries have increased trade with Russia.

Almost a year ago the media in South Africa was awash with articles in preparation of South Africa hosting the much anticipated BRICS Summit in August 2023. Articles speculated intensely about the possible launching of a BRICS currency that would facilitate intra-BRICS trade and move away from dependency on the US Dollar.

Despite all the hype around a BRICS currency the BRICS Summit did not launch a currency for intra-BRICS trade payments. Instead the BRICS group resolved to promote the use of own currencies for mutual trade in the bloc. With the expansion of the BRICS group to include five more countries from the global South into its ambit and the need for a trade payment system less dependent on the US dollar is becoming more and more imperative.

In addition to South Africa two more African countries, Egypt and Ethiopia, have now joined the group. From the middle east Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates have also now formally joined the group in January 2024.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's proposal for providing a mechanism for the BRICS multilateral group to overcome to develop mechanisms to overcome sanctions is slowly developing.

Currently, although old and new members are making efforts to trade and invest in their own currencies, they still use the US dollar for transactions. The reason for this is that the US dollar is an established reserve currency that is accepted globally. Amongst the BRICS nations only the Chinese Renminbi has achieved the status of an international reserve currency. South Africa, Brazil and some new BRICS countries have currencies that are internationally convertible but are not accepted as reserve currencies.

China's Renminbi (RMB) accession to the status of reserve currency by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was confirmed in October 2016 when the IMF decided that RMB met the criteria for inclusion into its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket. The Chinese three month yield Treasury Bonds was added to the basket and also used to set SDR interest rates.



As significant as this may have been for China at the time, recent developments however suggest that China is addressing internal monetary policy issues that will facilitate the wholesale use of the RMB as a reserve currency for trade and investment amongst the BRICS nations.

China, South Africa, Brazil and Russia have all signed mutually beneficial swap agreements whereby each country keeps a certain amount of the RMB and China retains a certain amount of the currency of the other country. These amounts are then used for mutually beneficial trade using own currencies. The post-pandemic economic growth was subdued for most of the BRICS countries. Notwithstanding, the Covid-19 challenges China's economy has rebounded.

With the ever present threat of sanctions and hanging over member countries of the expanded BRICS the group is looking for alternative payment mechanisms. Among the options being considered is the use of own currencies. To date Russia and China trade with each other using the Yuan (CNY).



In 2022 the Rand Merchant Bank in South Africa reported that South African importers of goods from China prefer being invoiced in Yuan as importers and suppliers derive benefits from such transactions. Suppliers in China potentially pay a lower price for goods and are likely to pass these lower prices as discounts to South African importers. The forward cover for most Chinese suppliers is lower in CNY/South African Rand (ZAR) than in US$/ZAR as interest rates are currently higher in China than in the USA.

Another advantage is a lower currency risk for importers and suppliers as the South African Rand is considered a volatile currency in relation to the US$, but less so in relation to the CNY and, lower volatility means lower risk as the weakening of the Rand against the Yuan will limit currency losses in the transactions.

There are also tangible benefits for Chinese suppliers invoicing in Yuan as the currency risk resulting from using the US$ is eliminated.



Chinese exporters receive 6% to 16% tax rebates much quicker for invoicing in Yuan than they would if they invoiced in US$.

Other trade payment mechanisms are also being considered globally. In 2021 it was reported that the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) was going to test the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in a pilot scheme called "Project Dunbar" that involved Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa.

The aim of the project was to consider if using a CBDC payment mechanism could lead to a more efficient global payment platform that will enable international settlement in digital fiat currencies issued by national central banks. The BIS averred that such a system will allow direct transactions in CBDCs between institutions, while reducing time and costs.



Today China leads in using CBDC for payments domestically and internationally central banks are considering such payment technologies that were initiated by tech firms such as China's Ant Group.

The possibilities of a new payment mechanism for international trade will be strengthened by the expansion of the BRICS group in January 2024 to include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia. In an article in the Review of the International Monetary Institute (IMI) published (2024.03.12) by Renmin University in Beijing, Herbert Poenisch (Senior Fellow at Zhejiang University and former senior economist at the BIS) suggested that five new currencies will be included for payments and mutual holdings in the BRICS group.

However, he argued that the BRICS lack a vehicle currency such as the Euro in the European Union. In the same way that the German Mark (D-Mark) was used as a transition vehicle currency before the European Central Bank established the Euro, China's Renminbi will possibly become the new prime holding currency for trade in the BRICS group.



Added to South Africa, Brazil and Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have begun trading using the Renminbi independent of a denominator currency and serve to promote the Renminbi as an international reserve currency. In the event of the Renminbi impacted by currency limitations the UAE Dirham has full capital account convertibility for residents and foreigners and is open to trading in all the other BRICS currencies.

Both the Renminbi and UAE Dirham may be able to serve the role of a vehicle currency in the short term for the BRICS group. The UAE's well developed financial centre can offer BRICS partners Dirham instruments, deposits and convertibility options with minimum risks.

Poenisch argues that the UAE could play a significant role as the Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) mechanism, by accepting weaker currencies for remittances or Renminbi for imports from Chin, and later disposing of them or augmenting Dirham reserves.



The international media reported that Janet Yellan's statement during her recent visit to China amounted to a threat with respect to China's trade with Russia and the export of goods to the USA and other western countries. The statements by the US treasury secretary that cheap goods from China is flooding the USA markets and poses a risk to manufacturing in the USA and other countries.

This statement goes against the economic principles of comparative advantage in trade and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) policy against protectionism. The argument that China has over capacity due to unfair subsidies does not take account of China's planned economic policy to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 that focus on clean technologies and high firm level robust competition in China.

If these goods are produced cheaply the world should be grateful to China that we are moving towards a greener economy and mitigating the effects of climate change. If the expanded BRICS group institutes a new payment mechanism for international trade within the group that manages to overcome the risk of sanctions then the threat of sanctions may be less significant in the long term.



The mechanism options discussed above should be considered by the BRICS central banks if the BRICS countries wish to avoid falling into the sanctions trap and monetary policy economic uncertainty.

Russia
Source: www.mid.ru

Sergey Lavrov's meeting with chairs of BRICS parliamentary foreign affairs committees

On April 11, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with chairs and representatives of BRICS parliamentary foreign affairs committees.

The meeting's agenda covers a wide range of matters related to the association's activities and prospects for strengthening interaction within international parliamentary structures.

The heads of the relevant committees within the BRICS legislative bodies will be in Moscow to attend the first meeting of the chairs of BRICS parliamentary foreign affairs committees. They are also scheduled to meet with the Speakers of the two chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

BRICS Council on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism

On April 24, delegates from the BRICS countries will gather in Nizhny Novgorod for a meeting of the Council on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. The event is included in the calendar of Russia's BRICS chairmanship.

The participants will exchange experience in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as discuss joint projects and cooperation between the relevant agencies of the BRICS members, including in the light of the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall on March 22.

The meeting will result in developing joint measures to minimise global risks, including terrorism financing, combating corruption, drug trafficking, and the use of cryptocurrency for crime.

On the Russian side, Yury Chikhanchin, Chairman of the BRICS Council on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Director of the Russian Federal Service for Financial Monitoring, will take part in the meeting and deliver a welcoming address.

The meeting is taking place as part of the International Science and Practice Forum on Topical Issues of Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. Its programme includes a plenary session, round tables and discussions, which will bring together heads of relevant ministries and agencies, international experts and representatives of the scientific community in Nizhny Novgorod from April 24 to 26.

We invite media to take part in this event. For questions on media accreditation, please contact the press service of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring: pr@fedsfm.ru

Question: What is your assessment of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to China? Should we expect new bilateral contacts soon, given the Kremlin's yesterday statement to the effect that this meeting could be regarded as a preparation for a potential summit?

Maria Zakharova: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov assessed the visit across the board at a news conference yesterday.

I can only reiterate that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to China was productive. He was received by PRC President Xi Jinping and held substantive talks with PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The talks took place in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual respect traditional for our bilateral relations and demonstrated once again the two nations' community of views on the main global processes and the striving to strengthen foreign policy coordination in the interests of peace and stability in the region and the world as a whole.

The leaders' diplomacy, the central element of our bilateral comprehensive partnership and interaction, plays the key role in strengthening the Russian-Chinese strategic link-up. It is thanks to the two presidents' personal focus that our relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and continue to develop dynamically amid a difficult international situation.

This year, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and PRC President Xi Jinping will have an opportunity to maintain their running political dialogue both bilaterally and at international forums.

The schedule of presidential contacts is discussed with the Chinese side on a regular basis, including during Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's just ended visit.

In addition, the foreign ministers discussed the two countries' international coordination. In the light of the Russian BRICS Chairmanship, they focused on prospects for this organisation's further development, with account taken of the accession of new members and the emergence of the category of partner countries. They also discussed prospects for the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024 and the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nizhny Novgorod in June.

They held an in-depth dialogue on cooperation within the SCO, with China due to take over from Kazakhstan as SCO President soon. Prospects for harmonising the SCO Eurasian development agendas and BRICS programmes were noted.

The foreign ministers exchanged views on cooperation at other international venues, including the UN, the G20, and APEC, where Moscow and Beijing have established close and productive ties.

They also focused on the Ukraine crisis, with Sergey Lavrov expressing renewed gratitude to China for its objective and even-handed position on the Ukrainian issue and its readiness to play a positive role in the matter of political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict. As you may understand, the West has deprived the Kiev regime of every opportunity to hold talks [with Russia]. This has been enshrined in law. In Beijing, the ministers voiced a shared opinion that any international events, which failed to take into account Russia's position and only promoted the ultimatum-like Zelensky's "peace formula," lacked prospects.

Russia reaffirmed its support for China's position on Taiwan as an inalienable part of China, given the more frequent provocative attempts at outside interference.

Russia
Source: www.hse.ru

On April 8, a roundtable discussion entitled 'Intellectual Property on the Rise: How to Maximize Its Positive Impact and Avoid Hazards' took place at HSE University in Moscow. The participants included Victoria Panova, HSE Vice Rector and Head of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, and Alan Freeman, Co-Director of Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba; Secretary of Geopolitical Economy Research and Education Trust; Co-Editor of Geopolitical Economy Book series, Manchester University Press.

Intellectual property is a key element of progress, which is used to turn ideas into real assets that are capable of improving the quality of life and solving the most pressing global problems. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), about two million patents were pending globally in 2009. In 2022, the amount was 3.46 million.

Successful and fast development of intellectual property market relies on a series of complicated political actions, which include the creation of a solid regulation, high-quality protection, effective cooperation between government-related and non-governmental stakeholders, as well as, importantly, international cooperation.


Victoria Panova and Alan Freeman © HSE University
'We are happy to welcome to HSE University an outstanding scholar, Mr Alan Freeman, who is renowned for his expertise in intellectual property. He has also worked on cooperation between BRICS countries in this field. An incentive for today's discussion was Mr Freeman's idea that there is no systemic work within BRICS towards creating an independent system of intellectual property law,' said Victoria Panova.

The meeting covered issues such as the elaboration of independent policy for intellectual property in the framework of BRICS; the role of intellectual property laws in promoting innovation and economic development; and challenges and opportunities related to intellectual property law in new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Alan Freeman said that such roundtable discussions are productive for two reasons. 'The first reason is that there is not enough dialogue between people in my country and people in this country, and that has to be overcome. Demonstrating the practical use of such dialogues is of fundamental importance. The second reason is that the issues of intellectual property, management of information, knowledge, creativity, and humanity are not something that can be left just to the legal profession and laws. The laws are very important. But we are in a rapidly changing period of history, and the institutions are important. There has to be cooperation between different types of institutions: academic institutions, practical, technical institutions, creators themselves, and national political leaders.'

Mr Freeman also said that today, the American-centric approach to intellectual property prevails. 'I believe it is high time to elaborate alternatives to this approach, and BRICS can be a solid platform for this,' he said.


The roundtable discussion took place in the framework of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, which was created at HSE University by the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, following an order by the RF Government. The Council is responsible for information, analytical, and expert support for Russia's BRICS chairship in 2024. It also carries out expert analysis and research on the relevant topics of political, socio-economic, and humanitarian cooperation in the association. The Head of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia is HSE Vice Rector Victoria Panova.

Russia
Source: brics-russia2024.ru

Moscow will welcome the Chairs of Committees on International Affairs of BRICS Parliaments on 10–12 April as part of Russia's Chairship of BRICS.

The programme of events will include meetings of the Heads of Committees on International Affairs of BRICS Parliaments with the Chairs of the Chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation along with a number of bilateral meetings and working sessions during which the participants will discuss the development of cooperation, the role of the BRICS Parliamentary Forum in strengthening cooperation within BRICS, and their own views on the agenda of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia's BRICS Chairship.

Russia
Source: brics-russia2024.ru

On 8 April the 3rd BRICS International Youth Project Lab (BRICS Project Lab 2024) opened at the MGIMO University. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov and representatives from the government authorities, public organizations, and the scientific community.

MGIMO Vice-Rector for Science and Research Andrey Baykov welcomed the participants and guests and emphasized the importance of joint work in BRICS and the role of academic and youth diplomacy in the organization. According to A.Baykov, expansion of BRICS is a proof of the growing global importance of the organization, which seeks a more just world order, economic growth, and social development for every region of the world.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Russia's BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov expressed his support for the Project Lab and spoke of the importance of public diplomacy and social and humanitarian cooperation within BRICS. Such work is especially relevant because of the global political trends: the growing role of the global majority and the emergence of alternative centres of power in light of the inefficiency of the existing system of global governance.

S.Ryabkov emphasised the true multilateralism and global nature of BRICS, praising the 2023 leaders Summit in Johannesburg, attended by more than 60 heads of states. S.Ryabkov also drew special attention to the Russia's BRICS Chairship priorities.

President of the 'BRICS. The World of Traditions' Regional Public Organization Lyudmila Sekacheva provided a detailed report on Russia's involvement in the international socio-cultural programme 'BRICS Peoples Choose Life', presented a plan for youth cooperation, and awarded certificates of merit to the partners who made the Indian programme at MGIMO possible during the 2nd BRICS Project Lab Gala event in 2023.

The founder of BRICS Project Lab and Leading Expert at the International Activities Department of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Anastasia Ilyushina spoke about the youth track of Russia's BRICS Chairship and the importance of the BRICS Project Lab.

The BRICS Lab, which will be held at MGIMO from 8 to 12 April, is a forum for young researchers and practitioners to learn more about BRICS activities. This year, 110 participants from 10 BRICS universities in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants.

The Lab will focus on education, tourism, the arts, science, medicine, Internet technology, space, energy, the environment, infrastructure development, and the law. Participants will work on innovative projects that can be applied for further development within BRICS, with the best projects to be sent to Russian agencies and non-governmental organizations.

BRICS Project Lab initiatives will be presented at the BRICS Youth Summit in Ulyanovsk in July.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia's BRICS Chairship.

Russia
Source: tass.com

Russia can help South Africa tackle electricity shortages — Russian Ambassador

Ilya Rogachev recalled that South Africa is currently the only country on the African continent that has a nuclear power plant in operation

Russian Ambassador to South Africa Ilya Rogachev
© Sergey Bobylev/TASS Host Photo Agency PRETORIA, April 9. /TASS/. Russia can help South Africa solve the problem of electricity shortages, Russian Ambassador to South Africa Ilya Rogachev told TASS.

"The Russian Federation is a world leader in the field of nuclear technology. <…> If we talk about cooperation between Russia and South Africa in this area, joint work on expanding nuclear generation in the country can play a key role in solving the problem of electricity shortages in South Africa and can lay the foundation for the energy independence and technological sovereignty of the Republic of South Africa," the diplomat said.

In recent years, South Africa has faced significant power shortages, leading to long rolling blackouts across the country. The government is making efforts to solve problems in the energy sector primarily through advanced technologies.

Rogachev recalled that South Africa is currently the only country on the African continent that has a nuclear power plant in operation.


"Our country is ready to cooperate in the supply of fuel for nuclear power plants, the construction of new large and small nuclear capacities, the development of floating plants, the construction of a new research reactor, the development of nuclear medicine and so on. We can offer solutions in the field of wind energy," the ambassador noted.

According to him, Russian companies work with advanced technologies and are ready, for their part, to offer expertise and competencies within the framework of appropriate tender procedures.

Reliable partner

The diplomat noted the special significance of Russian experience in the development of nuclear energy in the context of the global trend to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, diversify the energy balance and switch to cleaner energy sources.

"The desire of South African partners to cooperate with our country in this area appears to be driven by the desire to strengthen South Africa's energy security, solve the problem of rolling blackouts and reduce dependence on coal-fired power plants, which are now the main source of electricity in the country," he said. The diplomat drew attention to the fact that Russia, being a recognized world leader in the design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants, is ready to become a reliable partner for South Africa in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Cooperation between two companies

The diplomat recalled that in 2024, the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the South African energy concern Eskom signed a roadmap for three years, which, in particular, provides for the exchange of key practices in the field of personnel training, as well as interaction on this topic at the main international platforms (IAEA, BRICS, G20 etc.)

"The key area of work in this context is the creation of a pool of South African graduates from Rosatom's flagship universities, who, after completing their studies, will be able to find work at Eskom enterprises. We positively assess the prospects for Eskom's involvement in the implementation of the Obninsk TECH project - an international scientific and educational center of nuclear and related technologies in the city of Obninsk," the diplomat said.

"In June, Rosatom and Eskom will organize an international summer technology school for girls specializing in engineering, the work of which will be aimed at unlocking the potential of women in high-tech industries," the ambassador added.