17th BRICS Summit opens in Brazil

The BRICS Summit is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 6–7 July under the motto “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance”. Representatives of the association's countries will summarise the results of their work since the beginning of the year in three key areas: politics and security, economics and finance, as well as culture and humanitarian affairs.

The summit will be attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. China will be represented by Premier Li Qiang, Russia by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; and President Vladimir Putin will join the plenary session via videoconference. The UAE delegation will be led by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Egypt by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Iran by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Ten BRICS partner countries will also participate in the summit: Belarus, Bolivia, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, as well as nine international and regional organisations. In addition, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Uruguay are among the invited countries.

The summit programme for 6 July includes an official arrival ceremony for heads of tate and government, plenary sessions on “Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance" and “Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence”, as well as a working lunch. The day will conclude with an official reception on behalf of the Brazilian President and his wife. On Monday, 7 July, there will be a plenary session on the theme of “Environment, COP30, and Global Health”.

The BRICS+ sessions are expected to discuss the improvement of the international monetary and financial system and the implementation of various initiatives, including the new Investment Platform and the BRICS Grain Exchange.

Shen Yi, Director of the Center for BRICS Studies and Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University at Fudan University explains, the 17th BRICS Summit opens in Brazil with a strong focus on emerging technologies and digital sovereignty.

“The goal is to create an inclusive regulatory framework centered on digital sovereignty, establishing a BRICS-led technological governance model,” he stressed.

In addition to multilateral meetings, a number of bilateral talks are expected to take place. Earlier, Lula da Silva met with the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, according to Brasil 247, a partner of TV BRICS. Li Qiang stated China's desire to strengthen its partnership with Brazil in the areas of digital and green economy, science, technology, and aerospace. The Brazilian leader also met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM), a partner of TV BRICS. Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic for the warm welcome.

Photo: Rafa Neddermeyer / Brics Brasil, flickr.com / Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs