WORLD THIS WEEK

BRICS SUMMIT: China hosts the 14th Summit; calls for inclusivity and collective action

What happened?

On 23 June, China, being the Chair, hosted and initiated the 14th BRICS Summit in Xiamen city. President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address at the virtual summit and called for openness in the world order while advocating multilateralism and opposing hegemonic politics.

Xi's remarks stressed on opposing sanctions, promoting the emergence of non-Western powers, boosting innovation and cooperation, and repeatedly emphasized the importance of collective action and openness in the international order. Xi urged the BRICS member countries to expand the group and said: "This year we have, on separate occasions, had in-depth discussions on the question of membership expansion. It is important to advance this process to allow like-minded partners to become part of the BRICS family at an early date."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "The BRICS format has been consistently increasing its prestige and international influence. This is an objective process, since the five BRICS countries, as we all know, have immense political, economic, scientific, technical and human potential."

Indian Prime Minister Modi implored the members to improve connectivity and said: "There are multiple areas wherein through cooperation between BRICS nations, the citizens have benefitted. By increasing connectivity between BRICS Youth Summits, BRICS Sports, civil society organizations and think-tanks, we've strengthened our people-to-people connect."

South African President highlighted the benefits reaped by the country as a part of the group and said: "The BRICS membership of South Africa allows the country to employ additional and powerful tools in its fight to address its domestic triple challenge of unemployment, poverty, and inequality through science, technology, and innovation, energy, health, and education cooperation, as well as through BRICS financing for infrastructure development, capacity building, research, educational and skilling, trade, investment, and tourism opportunities."

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called for joint efforts by the BRICS countries in reforming the United Nations system. During the BRICS Business Forum, Bolsonaro said: "The connection among our business communities is one of our priorities at BRICS. By getting to know each other better, our entrepreneurs can close deals that will result in mutual gains, also benefiting the workers in our countries."

At the Summit, the member countries adopted the BRICS 2022 declaration which placed emphasis on "Strengthening and reforming global governance, working in solidarity to combat COVID-19, safeguarding peace and security, promoting economic recovery, expediting implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and deepening people-to-people exchanges and institutional development."

What does it mean?

The 14th BRICS summit reiterated the need to collectively address global challenges and engage with more countries in the developing world. A few countries within the group consider BRICS as a tool to engage further with other Latin American and African countries as they foresee potential and believe in uniting the emerging economies against the West. The evolution of the objectives of the group from economic to political unitedness shows the changing nature of the international order. It also clarifies China and Russia's intentions in creating an anti- West grouping and increasing their influence in South-South cooperation.

With regard to Ukraine, although the joint declaration at the BRICS summit called for dialogue between the warring countries, the group did not elaborate on a clear solution to end the war. The action depicts the failure of the group to address and resolve conflicts because of the China- Russia superiority.

Europe: Approving Ukraine’s candidature for the EU

What happened?

On 23 June, the European Parliament adopted a resolution to grant "EU candidate status" to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova without further delay. It also stated on providing the same to Georgia on fulfilling the priorities listed by the European Commission.

According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: "Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia share the strong and legitimate aspiration of joining the European Union. Today, we are sending them a clear signal of support in their aspirations, even as they face challenging circumstances. And we do so standing firm on our European values and standards, setting out the path they need to follow in order to join the EU."

Upon the announcement, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the European leaders and said: "This is the greatest step towards strengthening Europe that could be taken right now, in our time, and precisely in the context of Russia's war, which is testing our ability to preserve freedom and unity." Moldovan President Maia Sandu tweeted: "strong signal of support for Moldova and our citizens."

On 24 June, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: "The EU is not a political bloc like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The development of its relations with any willing countries does not create threats or risks for us."

What does it mean?

First, for Ukraine and Moldova, gaining the candidate status means a correction path to streamline the corruption issues, shape society, judicial reforms, pursue European objectives, and, most importantly marking its sovereign boundary. Although candidates' status will open the door for Ukraine to relook into its economic and political process, the steps to accession will be the real trouble. Till now the minimal time taken by the EU to grant the membership has been three to five years, therefore Ukraine and Moldova will continue to face

Russia on the ground but with renewed support from the EU. Second, the EU will face a serious set of challenges on two fronts. One, with an economy recovering from the pandemic, increased military expenditure for Ukraine, ongoing energy crisis, and inflation, the EU needs to be tactical in transforming Ukraine and the Balkans in their accession process. Two, the existing member states oppose the membership of certain countries such as Hungary and Poland because of the decline in rule of law, as they fear the implications of migrant labour on the EU's finance and identity, and limitations in instilling democracy during the accession process.

ALSO IN NEWS

China: Heavy rains and floods cause economic activity to shut again

On 23 June, the water levels in the Pearl River delta hit a record high in the century due to floods and heavy rains. Thousands of people from the Guangdong province in South China were evacuated after the country’s weather body issued orange and red alerts across the region. On 22 June, the Ministry of water resources placed its highest flood alert on the Pearl River basin and said that the Provincial capital city of Guangzhou would also be deeply impacted by the rains. China's economic powerhouses, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have shut production in factories once again, due to the weather conditions. The provincial emergency management estimated a direct economic loss of 1.7 billion yuan recently.

India: Technical team reopens embassy after the Taliban takeover

On 24 June, India sent a "technical team" to Kabul to reopen the embassy for the first time after the Taliban takeover. It also sent humanitarian assistance after the earthquake which killed 1,000 people. The team and aid were sent in an Indian Air Force Ilyushin-76 aircraft. The Indian embassy is the 15th mission to be opened in Kabul under the Taliban regime. Other countries, including Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, European Union, are already functioning. According to a statement by the MEA: "In order to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of our engagement with the Afghan people, an Indian technical team has reached Kabul today and has been deployed in our Embassy there,"

Sri Lanka: Prime Minister addresses parliament on economic crisis and visit by Indian delegation

On 22 June, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka addressed the parliament and called on all the parties to jointly work towards recovering the country from economic catastrophe. He also said that the country's economic crisis was much more than the shortage of fuel, electricity, fertilizers, and food. He said: "Our economy has faced a complete collapse. That is the most serious issue before us today. These issues can only be resolved through the reviving of the Sri Lankan economy. In order to do this, we must first resolve the foreign reserves crisis faced by us." On 23 June, an Indian delegation, including the Foreign Secretary of India, visited Sri Lanka and held discussions with the Prime Minister and President of Sri Lanka regarding the Indian assistance to Sri Lanka in reviving the economy. Sri Lanka is looking forward to USD 500 million as fuel aid from India.

The US: China’s Ministry of Commerce responds to ban on products from Xinjiang

On 21 June, the US Customs and Border Protection implemented the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and imposed a ban on products imported from China's Xinjiang region. China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson accused the US of economic coercion for imposing the ban. The statement by the ministry spokesperson said: "The move will seriously damage the interests of Chinese and US consumers and enterprises, and will do no good for the stabilization of global industrial and supply chains, global inflation easing, or the promotion of global economic recovery." The Ministry of Commerce further accused the US of practicing unilateralism, protectionism and bullying China in the name of human rights. The spokesperson also highlighted that the US behaviour violated the rules of the World Trade Organization and undermined the market principles.