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As the 2024 BRICS Summit closes in Kazan, Russia, the two major questions held by observers skeptical of the role this strange organization may play in the world remain unanswered.
No new nations were added to the BRICS membership, and no decisions were made regarding the implementation of a BRICS trading currency backed by gold.
Instead, the summit closed with the Kazan Declaration, a dizzying 32-page document containing 132 points of opinion that in general was extremely scant on concrete actions.
The only reference made to the long-speculated BRICS gold-backed currency was a numbered article that stated BRICS central bank governors and finance ministers should “continue consideration of the issue of local currencies, payment instruments, and platforms and report back to us by the next Presidency”.
Other than that, the now-nine-nation BRICS group agreed to discuss and study the feasibility and establishment of an independent cross-border settlement and depositary infrastructure, which they called “BRICS Clear” and that was the only major financial headline of note.
The Kazan Declaration touched on every policy point imaginable, from front-page topics like Israel’s genocide in Gaza and global climate change, to equitable use of outer space, cross-border collaboration on wildcat conservation, and the first issue of the BRICS Medical Journal.
They made no direct calls for the ending of any conflict anywhere in the world, expressing only grave concern for some, denouncing others, while encouraging all parties to come to dialogue.
It addressed the Israel pager and communication device bombing in Lebanon as a “grave violation” of international law, and a terrorist act. It called on all parties to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701 regarding the border between Lebanon and Israel, and for all involved parties to work towards a two-state solution in Palestine; all in very safe, non-committal language.
It called for navigational freedom in the Bab al-Mendab Strait to be restored, and for belligerent nations to advance Yemen’s peace process under UN auspices. Russia’s operations in Ukraine were clearly addressed when the party nations acknowledged “the legitimate and reasonable security concerns of all nations”.
The only spiky language came when referring to American sanctioning of BRICS member states, including Russia, China, and Iran, which they note were made illegal by over 140 nations in a UN Treaty, and are against the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, a document the Declaration claimed presented the foundational concept of multilateralism in which their organization is rooted.
In short, the BRICS Summit in Kazan reveals the group as being far from ready to replace anything, or lead anybody. As many reporters have speculated, the group seems to still be trying to figure out what it is and why it exists, a fact highlighted by the constant reference to other international development and cooperation organs like the G20, UN, World Trade Organization, and International Monetary Fund, as being cornerstone elements of the global order which the Declaration nonetheless claimed it wanted to reorganize. WaL
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PICTURED ABOVE: Heads of delegations of the BRICS countries pose for an official photograph in Kazan. PC: Kremlin.ru
