Turkey to Emphasize Collaboration at BRICS Summit
The 17th BRICS Leaders summit took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Sunday to Monday, with the theme "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance." The summit brought together representatives from the five founding members – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – along with newcomers Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and recently joined Malaysia.
The two-day talks focused on critical areas where the member countries aim to play leading roles. These included trade and investment, artificial intelligence and digital economy, global health, climate action, multilateralism and global governance, and political and security cooperation.
In the realm of trade and investment, the summit emphasised improving and increasing cooperation among BRICS nations, with a keen interest in reducing reliance on Western-dominated financial systems and increasing trade in national currencies. The group also discussed the potential to become global trendsetters in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, with countries like Malaysia, which joined BRICS recently, recognised for their promising IT markets.
Strengthening cooperation to address global health challenges was another priority, with over 200 new or reinforced cooperation mechanisms established, touching on eradication of hunger and public health issues. Tackling climate change remained a priority, aligning with BRICS’ broader sustainable development goals. The summit included commitments to environmental sustainability and coordinated climate policies.
Hakan Fidan, Foreign Minister of Turkey, represented the country at the summit. Fidan is expected to underscore the importance of preserving and enhancing multilateralism in addressing global challenges. He is also anticipated to emphasise the role of the BRICS platform in this context and present Turkey's principled, constructive, and humanitarian approach to crises in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza.
Fidan is expected to highlight the need for shared responsibility in tackling issues such as climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development, and global health. He is also set to present Turkey's concrete contributions in these areas, including its legislative efforts and ongoing projects such as the zero waste initiative aimed at combating climate change.
Notably absent from the summit were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and possibly Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. Putin will participate virtually, while Xi and Li Qiang's absences are due to scheduling conflicts.
The BRICS group aims to create alternative financial systems, reduce dollar dependency, and increase representation in global institutions. The bloc, which accounts for around 44% of global GDP and more than 56% of the world's population, seeks to reform global institutions traditionally led by Western powers to better reflect the interests of emerging economies.
The summit comes amid rising geopolitical tensions, including the recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, the genocide in the Gaza Strip, the war in Ukraine, and the return of Donald Trump to the White House and his renewed tariff threats. Despite these challenges, the BRICS Summit 2023 aims to assert greater influence on digital innovation, trade, climate, health, and multilateral governance for a more inclusive and sustainable world order.
- The summit emphasized reducing the reliance on Western-dominated financial systems and increasing trade in national currencies, which is a critical area where the BRICS nations aim to play leading roles.
- In the realm of global health, over 200 new or reinforced cooperation mechanisms were established, focused on eradicating hunger and addressing public health issues.
- Hakan Fidan, Foreign Minister of Turkey, who represented the country at the summit, is expected to highlight the need for shared responsibility in tackling issues such as climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development, and global health.
- The BRICS group, which includes countries like Turkey, aims to create alternative financial systems, reduce dollar dependency, and increase representation in global institutions.
- The Middle East was noted in the general news as the BRICS Foreign Minister, Fidan, is anticipated to emphasise Turkey's principled, constructive, and humanitarian approach to crises in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza.
