The Brief No 60
20 October 2024
During the last BRICS meeting in South Africa, president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that BRICS has invited additional members to join namely; Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia. These countries have large Muslim populations and immense natural resources. All have accepted the invitation to join BRICS except for Saudi Arabia which is yet to announce its decision.
The choice of Kazan to host BRICS Summit 2024 was a deliberate choice by President Putin, it is “charm offensive by Putin aimed at showcasing Muslim success in Russia”. Many Muslims around the world still view Putin as anti-Muslim especially after what happened in the Second Chechnyan war in 1999. Kazan is a beautiful world class city with many impressive museums and historical buildings including mosques and churches. It is the capital city of Tatarstan, Russia with a majority Muslim population. Put
Therefore, the announcement by Saudi Arabia that Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman will not attend this year’s BRICS Summit will certainly be a disappointment for Putin.
Notwithstanding, BRICS Summit 2024 will be a significant gathering this year. It is going to deal with difficult global politics and economic discussions particularly the following:
- The continuing war on Gaza and Lebanon by Israel
- The US elections will also, albeit quietly, certainly dominate the discussions bilaterally amongst members and at a group level
- Increased sanctions on Iran and Russia will also form part of the discussions
- New Development Bank also known as the BRICS Banks will also form part of the discussions
- Importantly, the ongoing discussions on the de-dollarization and the implementation of alternative tools of economic dealings amongst member states. Suggestions on discussion currently include member states using their respective currencies when trading and transacting amongst each other
Afrasid is in Kazan, Russia and will be available for analysis and commentary