Egypt Daily News – Shortly after welcoming new members to the club, the BRICS group of countries began experiencing the same problem faced by multilateral institutions around the world: an inability among its members to agree on fundamental issues.
Foreign ministers from two of the major emerging economies refused to sign a consensus statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Rio de Janeiro, after new members opposed parts of a previously approved plan to reform the United Nations Security Council.
Egyptian and Ethiopian objections
According to a statement issued by Brazil on Tuesday, both Egypt and Ethiopia two of the newest members of the bloc that originally included Brazil, Russia, India, and China, later joined by South Africa, objected to the group’s support for South Africa’s bid for a permanent seat on the council. BRICS had agreed during talks in Johannesburg in 2023 to support the candidacies of Brazil, India, and South Africa for seats on the Security Council as part of its effort to make the UN more democratic and representative of the so-called “Global South.”
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said in a press conference following the statement that the group is working to overcome these disagreements and may reach a consensus during the upcoming leaders’ summit in July.
BRICS ambitions under threat
However, this initial dispute signals a negative outlook for the group’s ambitions to expand its influence on the international stage and to fill the vacuum left by traditional multilateral institutions, which have long suffered from paralysis and lack of consensus.
Even before expansion, BRICS countries often struggled to agree on the group’s ultimate goals, despite being formed nearly two decades ago. Nevertheless, the need to reform the Security Council and other major international institutions had long been a common ground among members, all of whom have sought to give developing nations more influence in the global system, which is dominated by Washington and the West.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of that system, since his return to the White House in January—has created a potential opportunity for BRICS, which now represents about half of the world’s population and around 40% of global GDP.
China vows to stand firm, calls on BRICS to resist Trump’s bullying
Since taking office, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the global stage, starting with moves to pull the country out of the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord. He has also undermined the U.S.’s main foreign aid agency and launched a trade war that disrupted the global economy.
Trade and tariffs
In their first meeting since Trump took office, the ministers reached an agreement on language opposing protectionist trade practices, one of the meeting’s key themes.
Brazil’s statement said that the ministers “expressed deep concern over the rise of unjustified unilateral protectionist measures,” including “the arbitrary raising of reciprocal tariffs and non-tariff measures.”
However, they avoided directly naming Trump or the United States, even though China had signaled before the talks its desire to use the group to respond to Washington.
The statement added that the group “called on all parties to take measures to defend free trade and the multilateral trading system, with the aim of addressing current trade challenges and fostering a favorable environment for trade and investment for all.”
The bloc also reached an agreement on language defending a multilateral approach to issues including trade wars and climate change.
