The foreign ministers (FMs) of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries—Carlos Alberto Franco França, Sergey Lavrov, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Wang Yi, and Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor—met via video conference on Thursday to discuss issues of mutual concern. The summit, which was chaired by FM Wang, was titled ‘Strengthen BRICS Solidarity and Cooperation, Respond to New Features and Challenges in International Situation.’
A joint statement released by the FMs stated that topics of COVID-19, multilateralism, climate change, the Ukraine conflict, terrorism, arms control, technology, and human rights were discussed.
COVID-19
The ministers reiterated that the coronavirus pandemic has caused an “unprecedented shock and hardship” to humanity. The statement said that the uncertainties created by the pandemic “will impact the achievement of sustainable development goals globally.”
Noting that the difficulties caused by COVID-19 are interconnected, the ministers “reaffirmed the need for the international community to work together to build resilience through solidarity and cooperation.”
Participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue with Emerging Markets and Developing Countries. Made 4 major points:
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 19, 2022
1. International organizations must see real change, not just new terminology. A rebalanced and multipolar world should lead to reformed multilateralism. pic.twitter.com/f5JrBvoZWu
Furthermore, the FMs stressed the importance of delivering safe, accessible, and affordable vaccines and medicines to combat COVID-19. In this regard, BRICS countries support the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) in combating the pandemic through equitable initiatives like COVAX.
“They recognised the importance of the on-going discussions in the WTO on relevant IP waiver proposals, as well as capacity building and strengthening local production of vaccines and other health tools, especially in developing countries,” the statement added. Additionally, the FMs supported the launch of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre, the establishment of an early warning system for the prevention of mass infectious diseases, and the adoption of an MoU on cooperation in the field of regulation of medical products for human use.
Multilateralism
The diplomats “reiterated their commitment to multilateralism through upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations as its indispensable cornerstone.”
Stating that the role of the UN is crucial to global peace and security, the ministers said that they are committed to “enhancing and improving global governance by promoting a more agile, effective, efficient, representative and accountable system.”
The quintet recalled the 2021 BRICS ‘Joint Statement on Strengthening and Reforming the Multilateral System’ and said that BRICS aims “to make the global governance institutions more inclusive, representative and democratic and to facilitate greater participation of emerging markets and developing countries in global decision-making.”
In this regard, they stressed the need for reforming the UN, especially the Security Council (SC), “with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges.”
“China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and supported their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN,” the statement read.
However, the statement made no mention of support for India’s bid to become a permanent member of the UNSC, an endeavour China has in the past sought to block.
Climate Change
#BRICS countries represent an important force in addressing climate change and have made BRICS contributions to global climate response. pic.twitter.com/EyNCUXwXe5
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) May 17, 2022
The diplomats also underscored the importance of pursuing sustainable policies to combat the effects of climate change and reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“They also expressed their concern on the attempts to link security with climate change agenda and recalled that the UNFCCC, including the annual COP sessions, is the appropriate and legitimate international forum to discuss the issue of climate change,” the statement read.
Ukraine
The FMs expressed their support for dialogue between Ukraine and Russia to end the brutal conflict. The ministers also “discussed their concerns over the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine” and hailed efforts by UN agencies to provide aid to the country.
Terrorism
The Ministers are determined to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the movement of terrorists across borders, terrorist financing networks and the provision of safe havens to terrorists: joint Statement#BRICS https://t.co/KwjRo6p40V
— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) May 19, 2022
The ministers condemned terrorism in all its forms and “reiterated that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group.”
“They committed to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and terrorism financing networks and safe-havens,” the release noted. Moreover, the five ministers agreed to create a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the UN framework.
Arms Control
The FMs called for “continued efforts to strengthen the system of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation treaties and agreements and to preserve its integrity for maintaining global stability.” Accordingly, they called for strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Outer Space Treaty.
The inclusion about biological and chemical weapons was likely at the request of Russia, which has recently alleged that the United States (US) and Ukraine preparing to conduct chemical and biological warfare in Ukraine, a claim that has been rejected by both. Similarly, the calls to strengthen the Outer Space Treaty were likely made by both China and Russia, which recently criticised the US for refusing to sign a treaty to outlaw the weaponisation of space while simultaneously calling for an end to direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing.
The BRICS statement also called for a world free of nuclear weapons and stressed their strong commitment to nuclear disarmament measures.
Technology
They vowed to promote an “open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful” information and communications technology environment and affirmed their support for UN efforts in this regard. The FMs also called for improved cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related technologies and expressed their concerns on the risk, and ethical dilemmas related to AI, such as privacy, manipulation, bias, human-robot interaction, and employment.
Human Rights
The ministers called on the international community “to cooperate in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms under the principles of equality and mutual respect.” Moreover, they said that it is important to treat all human rights issues “in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis” and “promote, protect and fulfil human rights in a non-selective, non-politicised and constructive manner and without double standards.”
Message by Chinese President Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the #BRICS countries to work together to build a global community of security for all, while delivering a video address at the opening session of the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting. pic.twitter.com/RlpOc45Aop
— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) May 19, 2022
President Xi delivered a statement during the meeting. He called on BRICS countries to take “real action to promote peace and development, uphold fairness and justice, and advocate democracy and freedom, so as to inject stability and positive energy into international relations in a period of turbulence and transformation.”
He also urged BRICS to work together to “promote common security in the world” and reject hegemonism, power politics, Cold War mentality, and bloc confrontation.