Roundtable Discussion on The Road to BRICS 2024- Agenda Process Politics

Posted on by NIHSS Administrator

On 30 July 2024, the Ocean Regions Research Programme at the Department of Political Sciences, at the University of Pretoria (UP) led by Prof Maxi Schoeman, hosted a roundtable discussion titled “On the Road to BRICS 2024: Agenda, Process, Politics.”

The event held on the 21st floor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building at UP main campus was facilitated by Dr Yu-Shan Wu officially opened the meeting and subsequently handed over to Prof Christopher Isike, Head of the Politics department who delivered a welcome note to attendees, from, academia, diplomatic corps and various government departments and entities.

Speaking at the event was Sanusha Naidu and Dr Emmanuel Mathambo, both experts on the BRICS, Global-South and multilateralism. Their discussion focused mainly on the expectations of the BRICS Summit to be held from 22-24 October 2024 in Kazan, Russia.

The roundtable discussion comes midway through Russia’s Chairship of the BRICS bloc, which through the Johannesburg II Declaration in 2023 saw the expansion of the bloc to include Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, Argentina later declined the invitation.

Key discussion points at the event included:

  • Russia’s extended themes and working groups, covering areas from science and technology to intellectual property rights, culture, higher education, and sustainable development practices.
  • The reflection on BRICS’ original intent and its progress since the inception
  • The identity of the “BRICS Plus” as a bloc.
  • Ongoing discussions within the BRICS to continue to emphasise the geopolitical and geoeconomic dimensions of global influence.
  • The reformation of the global financial architecture, challenges related to dependency on the dollar, and the establishment of alternative financial systems.
  • The increased interest from other countries most recently, the application by Malaysia, marking a growing interest in BRICS.
  • The process of integrating new members and maintaining influence and decision-making authority among core members.
  • The impact of new members on how the inclusion will shape BRICS’ agenda setting and operation

To engage further on the projects’ progress, and  be informed of future events please follow the Ocean Regions Research Programme at the Department of Political Sciences LinkedIn page.