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BRICS Business Forum Meeting opened with the active participation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and Russian President joining the meeting virtually
BRICS Business Forum Meeting opened with the active participation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and Russian President joining the meeting virtually. But a strong Russian delegation is in attendance in Johannesburg, the venue of the event.
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The Russian President in his address reiterated his promise to deliver grain to six African countries free of charge, in a pre-recorded video, and emphasized that Russia would only return to the Black Sea grain deal if all obligations were met. Russia had been saying for months that conditions for the deal’s extension had not been fulfilled. Putin said in July that he wanted an end to sanctions on the Russian Agricultural Bank.
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Russia has put forward numerous other demands also for the resumption of the grain deal which was brokered by the UN and Turkey, such as the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and parts, lifting restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, and the resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline. The unblocking of assets and the accounts of Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer exports also form part of the Russian demand. Russia has said in several forums that the deal would help only the rich Western countries. According to the UN world food program, only 2.2 percent of the 32.9 million tons of exported Ukrainian grain went to African countries like Ethiopia and Somalia. Over 44% of exports were shipped to high-income countries, a point Russia reiterates went against the spirit of the deal.
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The BRICS are an increasingly important forum for Russia at a time when its economy is grappling with Western sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. It is seeking to establish new diplomatic and trade relations with Asia, Africa, and Latin America. President Putin said Russia was looking to develop two flagship projects in particular: a northern sea route with new ports, fuel terminals, and an expanded ice-breaking fleet, and a north-south corridor linking Russian ports to shipping terminals in the Gulf and Indian Ocean.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – represent more than 40% of the world’s population. The summit is expected to discuss adding new members. In the meantime, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discussed improvements to their economic partnership ahead of the BRICS summit. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, and South Africa is China’s biggest trading partner in Africa. The leaders signed several agreements and memoranda of cooperation in various trade and economic sectors.
South Africa has decorated Xi with the highest civilian honour. Receiving the Order of South Africa presented by South African President Ramaphosa, Xi Jinping reminisced about the golden age of the China-Africa partnership and vowed to support Africa’s access to G20. Noting that he would treasure the honor, which symbolized the friendship between the two peoples, Xi pledged to push for the continuous development of China-South Africa relations. Jinping’s visit comes as China and Russia look to gain more political and economic ground in the developing world amid worsening tensions with Western powers.
