On Jan. 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the meeting of BRICS sherpas and sous-sherpas, taking place in Moscow Jan. 30-Feb. 1. The sherpas will help shape the agenda that the BRICS, that Russia chairs in 2024, is going to adopt at its annual leadership summit in Kazan, Russia, in October.
Russia advanced a proposal for BRICS members, including the five new members, to draw on the $100 billion in reserves that the BRICS holds, in the event of foreign reserve shortages and forced drawdowns, such as those besetting new BRICS member Egypt.
Lavrov presented, as he has over recent months, that economic power and development are slipping out of the hands of the Western nations and being taken up by the developing Global South. Lavrov told the sherpas: “We can see a deep transformation of international relations, which reflects the development of a more democratic and fairer multipolar world based on the cultural and civilizational diversity of the modern world and the right of every nation to determine its future.
“It is a historically objective process. New powerful centers of economic growth and financial and political influence are rising. This is not happening because the U.S.-led collective West is doing everything in its power to preserve its domination, or whatever is left of it, which they have enjoyed for 500 years of human history. That domination rests on colonial wars, the exploitation of nations, and many other elements. It can be described as the privileged position of the ‘golden minority.’”
As the global shift unfolds, Lavrov highlighted the new organizations and instruments, including the BRICS, that are fostering it: “There are interesting projects there involving the SCO, the EAEU, ASEAN, including in the context of working with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. All these subregional and regional processes will move forward at an even faster pace and gain substance while the West keeps pushing its age-old global instruments.”
