BRICS Summit 2024: Kazan Declaration not a Game Changer
Bottom Line: The BRICS Summit, which was held in Kazan on October 22-24, was the first summit following BRICS has expanded to include Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Despite expectations, Kazan deceleration, which was a joint statement signed after the summit, is not a game-changer but offered little of substance outlining just areas of cooperation. No concrete steps were taken on accepting new members in Kazan while 13 countries including Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkiye, Vietnam and Venezuela were announced as new partners. Turkiye’s president Erdogan joined the summit but no consensus reached for Turkiye to become a BRICS member in the near future. India and Brazil remained critical that BRICS should not become an anti-Western organization.
The BRICS Summit, which was held in Kazan on October 22-24, was the first summit following BRICS has expanded to include Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates where 13 new partner countries were accepted including Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkiye, Vietnam and Venezuela. The BRICS members signed a joint statement on October 23, which called for the promotion of peace, a more representative, fairer international order, a reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, sustainable development and inclusive growth. Despite expectations, we think the Kazan deceleration was not a game-changer but offered little of substance outlining just areas of cooperation.
The declaration addressed international conflicts, with the need for peaceful resolution through diplomacy. It was interesting to see that the BRICS affirmed the importance of adhering to the principles of the United Nations Charter and welcomed mediation efforts on Ukraine –Russia conflict as the joint statement underscored the central role of the UN in the international system and international law. The leaders also voiced concern over the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
The declaration provided information on joint financial efforts, including reforms to the international financial architecture. The leaders encouraged new financial practices and emphasized that "We welcome the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) focus on facilitating and expanding innovative financial practices." Another key highlight of the summit was the agreement to strengthen trade and financial settlements in local currencies. The declaration welcomed the use of local currencies in BRICS financial transactions, supported the exploration of an independent cross-border settlement infrastructure and favored the principle of minimizing trade barriers and non-discriminatory access.
Despite no new members announced in Kazan, a number of bilateral meetings before and during the gathering were held, which can be considered as an indicative of the direction of BRICS. India’s prime minister Modi, and China’s president Jinping, held their first face-to-face discussion in five years while China and India signed an agreement settling a four-year border dispute.
Russia’s president Putin met Turkiye’s president Erdogan was another significant bilateral meeting. After Turkiye officially applied to join BRICS on September 2 being the first NATO member showing interest to join, no concrete steps were taken between the parties to officialize the membership.
Speaking at the BRICS forum, Erdogan stated that “We are determined to further our dialogue with the BRICS family, with whom we have developed close relations based on mutual respect and win-win. (…) The political and financial mechanisms that emerged after World War II cannot deliver what is expected of them.” Analysts see this as an attempt to pressure the EU into accelerated Turkiye accession talks and Turkey is not really committed to BRICS. However, BRICS is still searching for practical issues for cooperation, with some countries wanting to remain neutral on the Ukraine war and use U.S./China tensions to their advantage. For instance, Argentinian president Milei immediately cancelled Argentina’s plans to join BRICS and condemned the organization, stating, “Our geopolitical alignment is the U.S. and Israel. We are not going to align ourselves with communists,” after he took the office last December. Saudi Arabia’s position remains ambiguous in its position as it did not officially accept the invitation, but it has not rejected the offer either. Kazakhstan also decided not to join shortly before the summit.
Interestingly, the summit surfaced some of the disagreements. Bloomberg reported that Indian prime minister Modi said on October 24 the BRICS alliance should not oppose itself to global alliances even if Russia and China seek to expand the group to challenge the U.S.-led world order, as India and Brazil continue to remain critical that BRICS should not become anti-Western organization. It seems Brazil hesitates on BRICS expansion while Russia remains in favour of further expansion.
The summit also sparked a domestic political debate in South Africa, following president Ramaphosa’s comments on Russia being an ally to South Africa during his address at the BRICS Summit, which was then objected by the Democratic Alliance (DA). It appears the African National Congress (ANC) and DA are at odds over their clashing foreign policies, which has led to the DA accusing Ramaphosa of not respecting the Government of National Unity (GNU) agreements.