People’s BRICS Summit begins in Rio as Brazil’s presidency of group ends

The city of Rio de Janeiro is hosting the People’s BRICS Summit from 1 to 4 December as part of the agenda of the BRICS Civil Council. The event is expected to attract around 150 guests from 21 countries, according to information from Brasil 247, a partner of TV BRICS.

The summit aims to establish a communication link between popular movements and BRICS, fostering debate on expanding the participation of the civil society of the Global South in global governance mechanisms.

Considered “historic”, the initiative marks the first activity of the BRICS Civil Council and also serves as the last major event of Brazil’s presidency in the group, before the chairmanship passes to India, which will assume the presidency in 2026.

According to the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), the programme will be divided into thematic axes, addressing key issues such as multilateralism, economic cooperation, and the reform of global governance and the financial architecture. Some of the expected topics include the creation of new payment systems, the use of national currencies in cross-border transactions, and the role of BRICS in the reform of global governance.

Among the authorities who will take part in the discussions are Brazil’s BRICS Sherpa, Mauricio Carvalho Lyrio, and the Deputy Head for International Finance and Economic Cooperation at the Secretariat for International Affairs of the Ministry of Finance of Brazil, Antonio Freitas. In addition, the current President of the New Development Bank (NDB), Dilma Rousseff, will also participate virtually.

The Popular Civil Council of BRICS was established following discussions at the Civil Forum held during the Kazan Summit in Russia in July 2024. Its creation was endorsed by the leaders of the member countries in the official declaration.

Photo: TV BRICS