BRICS Calls For Less War, More Finance But Quiet On Detail

BRICS leaders, including China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, called for a ceasefire in Gaza and hinted at the potential for a non-Western payment system but mentioned Ukraine just once in their final communiqué, Vladimir Soldatkin and Guy Faulconbridge reported for Reuters.

Moscow has been cautious about revealing too much about its financial and trade relations, fearing additional US sanctions. I Photo: BRICS Russia 2024

BRICS—originally an idea conceived by Goldman Sachs two decades ago to describe the growing economic power of China and other major emerging markets—now represents 45% of the world's population and 35% of the global economy.

The 43-page final communiqué from the BRICS summit touched on topics ranging from geopolitics and narcotics to artificial intelligence (AI) and even the preservation of big cats.

However, the aforementioned lacked detail on several major issues.

With Russia facing what the West describes as the most punitive sanctions ever imposed due to the war in Ukraine, Moscow has been cautious about revealing too much about its financial and trade relations, fearing additional US sanctions.

Despite the rhetoric, the communiqué showed limited progress on an alternative payment system that some members hope could finance transactions between BRICS countries.

The US dollar was not mentioned.