The ASEAN+BRICS Roundtable on Sustainable Trade for Global Food Security, hosted by the Diplomatic Network (Asia) on August 14, 2024 underscored the increasing focus within Southeast Asia and Singapore on fostering collaboration with BRICS states and their institutional frameworks.
The deliberations centered on refining global governance and sustainable trade practices to enhance and safeguard food security, ensuring the fulfillment of the fundamental human right to adequate nutrition in the contemporary world. The roundtable convened prominent business leaders alongside ambassadors from BRICS and ASEAN member states, engaging in three interactive panels dedicated to formulating global strategies for sustainable trade and food security. These panels also addressed the harmonization of trade practices between BRICS and ASEAN, as well as future challenges and avenues for South-South cooperation.
The event, the Russian Embassy in Singapore took part in, emphasized the pivotal role that BRICS nations play in fortifying food security and ensuring the resilience of supply chains. These countries possess more than 30% of the world’s agricultural land and occupy a prominent position in the global agricultural market, thanks to the diverse environmental, demographic, and socio-economic conditions within their borders, which foster a wide range of agricultural products. In 2022, Russia initiated the adoption of the BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation. Looking ahead, BRICS anticipates the implementation of a new four-year plan for Agricultural Cooperation under Brazil’s chairmanship in the coming year. Additionally, Russia has proposed the establishment of a grain trading platform within BRICS—the BRICS Grain Exchange—as a critical mechanism for bolstering food security.
BRICS represents a unique intergovernmental framework where representatives from diverse countries, spanning various religions, civilizations, and cultures, engage in dialogue, collaborate, and jointly formulate decisions for subsequent implementation. The foundation of BRICS cooperation is built on principles of equality, mutual respect, openness, and the pursuit of a balanced alignment of interests. The cooperation within BRICS is anchored on three primary pillars: policy and security, economy and finance, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
The BRICS association, as it stands today, encompasses 10 member states. In 2023, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS as full-fledged members, signifying the growing influence and authoritative role of the association in global affairs. Quantitatively, BRICS countries now constitute 45% of the world’s population (3.6 billion people), account for over 40% of global oil production, and generate approximately a quarter of the world’s goods exports. According to the International Monetary Fund’s estimates from last year, the combined GDP of the five founding BRICS nations reached $58.9 trillion, representing 33% of global GDP. This figure surpasses the GDP of the G7 by $5 trillion, as the G7 accounts for only 30% of the global GDP.
BRICS is increasingly gaining traction among nations that resonate with its underlying principles and aspirations to establish a multipolar international order and a more equitable global financial and trade system. Thus, it offers a totally different model of intergovernmental institutions based on trust and equality, rather than enmity and domination.
As of January 1, 2024, Russia, having prioritized BRICS cooperation within its long-term foreign policy framework, assumed the BRICS chairmanship under the banner of “Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security.” This approach aligns with Russia’s fundamental national interests and complements its strategic objective of fostering a fair multipolar world order, while ensuring equitable opportunities for all nations to develop.
In the context of the Russian chairmanship, over 200 events of varying scales and formats are scheduled across multiple cities in Russia.
The Nizhny Novgorod meeting of foreign ministers in June 2024 addressed a broad spectrum of issues, ranging from trade, economic development, and climate change to contemporary geopolitical conflicts, including those in the Middle East, Africa, and concerns in Afghanistan and Haiti. The discussions also encompassed joint efforts to combat international terrorism, corruption, and illicit drug trafficking. Moreover, the ministers underscored the importance of ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and preventing an arms race in space, reiterating their commitment to fostering an open, secure, stable, accessible, and peaceful ICT environment, in accordance with the current UN framework.
The BRICS summit, scheduled to take place in Kazan on October 22-24, will serve as the cornerstone event of Russia’s BRICS presidency. We anticipate that representatives from all nations interested in advancing cooperation within BRICS will accord significant attention to this summit. Undoubtedly, it is poised to make a substantial contribution to the discourse on addressing the challenges and threats of our time, while also devising collective solutions to global issues and development objectives. Furthermore, the summit will play a crucial role in formulating recommendations aimed at developing multilateral mechanisms that operate independently from the West’s unilateral actions and neocolonial approaches. Its outcomes would be of much relevance for strengthening ASEAN-centered open and inclusive regional architecture, rather than destabilizing Western Indo-Pacific strategies.
