00:00 The first in-person BRICS summit since the pandemic is being hosted by South Africa in
00:05 Johannesburg.
00:07 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese
00:11 President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Lui Inácio Lula da Silva are expected to
00:17 attend.
00:18 Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to attend due to a warrant for his arrest
00:22 issued by the International Criminal Court for the alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
00:27 However, he will attend virtually and will be represented in Johannesburg by the Russian
00:32 Foreign Minister.
00:33 Besides these leaders, 67 others across Africa, Latin America, Asia and Caribbean have been
00:39 invited.
00:40 About 20 dignitaries of the UN, including the Secretary-General, have been invited.
00:46 Business leaders are also expected to attend.
00:48 The trickiest discussion during the summit is expected to be the expansion of the BRICS
00:52 itself by adding new members.
00:55 It is an issue over which members disagree, so a decision and certainly an announcement
00:59 is unlikely.
01:00 China, which wants to add geopolitical clout at a time of tension with the United States,
01:05 is driving the demand for expansion.
01:07 Russia, which is increasingly isolated over the Ukraine war, also wants more members.
01:12 India might agree to the expansion, but Brazil is unlikely to agree.
01:18 BRICS accounts for more than 40% of the world's population and about 26% of the global economy.
01:23 It offers an alternative forum for countries outside groupings seen to be dominated by
01:27 traditional Western powers.
01:29 BRICS includes five economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, representing
01:35 30% of the world's territory and around 18% of world trade.
01:39 With all in this mind, 23 countries now want to join BRICS, including Saudi Arabia, Iran,
01:45 United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia.
01:50 The other controversial topic on the BRICS agenda is the proposal for a new gold-backed
01:54 currency.
01:55 This is an attempt to reduce reliance on the US dollar.
01:59 Analysts see this as a move to place BRICS at the head of the global economy, while some
02:03 see it as an attempt to deal with economic problems within the group.
02:08 As far as India is concerned, there is a possibility of a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister
02:12 Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.
02:16 US Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong told reporters, "I am confident that as two
02:22 nations, two countries, we will have direct talks, direct meetings."
02:26 While the two leaders did have a short exchange of pleasantries during the G20 summit in November
02:31 of 2022, this could be their first scheduled meeting since the border stand-off started
02:36 in May 2020.
02:37 There is no official confirmation of a scheduled bilateral meeting, but the two leaders are
02:41 expected to be at the same venue for almost two days in Johannesburg and a possible meeting
02:46 can't be ruled out.
02:48 PM Modi is expected to have a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of the African countries
02:52 and Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, apart from host South African President
02:57 Cyril Ramaphosa.
02:58 But all eyes will be on the Modi-Xi meeting if it does take place.
03:03 It would be their 20th meeting since they have been in power, but they haven't had
03:07 a scheduled meeting since 2020 when the India-China border stand-off started.
03:12 For India, the BRICS summit is also a means of establishing its larger efforts to represent
03:16 the global South.
03:17 Other issues of the BRICS agenda include easier trade and investment, sustainable development,
03:23 innovation and reforms in global governance.
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