In the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaders of the BRICS nations will seek to present a united front against American economic protectionism at the summit starting today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While they are expected to avoid directly naming U.S. President Donald Trump, the bloc aims to express serious concerns over unilateral tariffs that disrupt global trade.
The BRICS group — comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran — represents nearly half of the world’s population and accounts for 40% of global GDP. According to a draft of the final communique obtained by AFP, the leaders plan to voice their worries about protectionist measures that threaten worldwide economic growth.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the summit host, emphasized multilateral cooperation: “Faced with the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging states to defend the multilateral trading system and reform the international financial architecture.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the summit for the first time despite China’s leadership role in the bloc. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be absent due to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. He is expected to address the summit via video link.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have also cast a shadow over the gathering. Negotiations reportedly reached a consensus on how to address the issue in the final statement, maintaining the same tone as a previous BRICS communiqué from late June, which condemned ‘military attacks’ without naming any specific countries and called for breaking the cycle of violence in the Middle East.
Iran will be represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.