Economy News – Baghdad
The BRICS Emerging Economies Summit continues, for the second day in a row in Johannesburg, with the participation of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
In his opening speech to the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said:
– We seek to strengthen cooperation between BRICS countries and the African continent.
– We seek to preserve the interests of the countries of the South and we call on the major countries to do so.
– We seek to enhance the interaction of local currencies between the countries of the BRICS Group.
– Concerned about the use of global financial institutions as tools of political conflict.
-BRICS Group seeks to provide equal economic opportunities.
– We seek the prosperity of the peoples of the countries of the group.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said:
– The BRICS group has become stronger, but it faces very complex scenarios.
– BRICS countries account for 41 percent of the world’s population and more than 30 percent of global output.
– The Ukrainian war showed the limitations of the UN Security Council.
– Many UN bodies do not have much influence.
– What is happening in Ukraine has global repercussions.
– The pursuit of peace is a shared commitment, the BRICS Group must act as a force to achieve this and cooperate between us.
Subsequently, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated via video:
– BRICS Group has proven its credibility in front of the international community.
– BRICS Group supports a multipolar society that respects international law.
– We reject the quest of some countries to strengthen their dominance and restore their colonial policy.
– We seek to establish a new world order that respects international law.
– We seek to stop the war launched by the West against the “Donbass people”.
– Anyone who rejected the previous coup in Ukraine was subjected to war.
– We seek to exclude the dollar from commercial transactions between BRICS countries and replace it with local currencies.
After Putin, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said:
– We worked to create economic safety nets through various initiatives.
– We are working as much as possible to make a positive change in the lives of the citizens of the BRICS countries.
– Cooperation between BRICS countries in the fields of education, technology and space should be strengthened.
– India supports the expansion of the BRICS group.
– We have proposed permanent membership of the African Union in the BRICS group to strengthen the presence of the countries of the South.
– We must prepare all our communities for the future.
The two countries are seeking to exploit the August 22-24 summit in Johannesburg, to make the group a parallel force for Western dominance of global institutions.