Why Russia wants to win Brics friends for a new global financial order

As this year’s summit host, Moscow will be looking for a way around the US dollar-dominated international payments system

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Brics leaders will gather the Russian city of Kazan from Tuesday for the bloc’s annual summit. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:00pm, 19 Oct 2024Updated: 2:03pm, 20 Oct 2024

Two dozen leaders from emerging economies are gathering in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan next week to discuss political, economic and security cooperation. In the first of a two-part series, Dewey Sim examines Moscow’s desire for a substitute for the Western-led financial system.

As Russia plays host to the Brics summit next week, it will seek to show the world that it still has “many friends” and lobby for an alternative financial system to buoy its heavily sanctioned economy.

Increasingly isolated from the West since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is billing the gathering of emerging economies as its biggest foreign policy event ever, but observers say any substantive agreement from the summit will not come easily.

Leaders from 24 countries including China and Iran will meet in the Russian city of Kazan from Tuesday for their first meeting of the bloc since it expanded this year to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are its founding members.

Jiang Tianjiao, associate director of the Centre for Brics Studies at Fudan University, said much global attention was on the upcoming summit particularly with Russia – chair of the group this year – in the middle of a heightened geopolitical environment.

“[The world] wants to know … if they can find consensus and make cooperative achievements,” Jiang said.

“With the Brics expansion, [the group now has] more members, bigger markets, and a huge population. All of these will bring great benefits and opportunities for trade and investment ... That’s why [countries] have very high expectations.”