Brick by brick

News: Recently, the 14th BRICS Summit concluded on June 24. It was hosted by China and was held virtually. It revealed much about the grouping of five emerging nations.

Achievements

The first summit was conducted in Yekaterinburg in 2009. Since then, it has successfully conducted the 14th summit, which is in itself a remarkable achievement.

In addition, the BRICS countries have established the New Development Bank (NDB) in 2015. Since its launch, the bank has funded around $30 billion worth of projects in emerging nations

What are the roadblocks in front of the BRICS?

Despite a tall agenda, the bloc remains constrained by differences. For instance, India and China have found themselves on opposing sides of the debate on two key issues.

(1) UN reforms: India and Brazil pushed for an expanded UN Security Council (UNSC). However, China is certainly not in favor of a permanent seat for India.

(2) Terrorism: China on multiple occasion have blocked India’s move to sanction the LeT terrorist at the UNSC sanctions committee

The different members of the grouping have different views on condemning NATO. These differences certainly create doubt on the grouping’s tall goals of reorienting the global order.

The Beijing Declaration

It envisaged promoting “making instruments of global governance more inclusive, representative and participatory”.

It has mentioned different opposing approaches that India and China have adopted with respect to the above-cited two key issues.

The Way Forward

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described that “BRICS members have similar approach regarding the governance of the global economy”.

The BRICS countries should continue to cooperate on issues where interests align. There remains a strong convergence of interests amid undeniable differences, like financing projects by the NDB, working on climate change, or space cooperation, where the five countries have agreed to create a joint constellation of remote sensing satellites.

Source: The post is based on an article “Brick by brick” published in the “The Hindu” on 25^th June 2022.