Events

25 Aug 2023

Belarus-BRICS. Takeaways from Aleinik’s visit to South Africa

Photo courtesy of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MINSK, 25 August (BelTA) – Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik took part in the events of the 15th BRICS summit in South Africa on 23-24 August, BelTA has learned.

On the sidelines of the summit the Belarusian minister held bilateral talks with the head of Eritrea, the counterparts from Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Food security tops the agenda

“The meetings highlighted the issues of bilateral cooperation, supplies of Belarusian products to the markets of these countries, joint cooperation projects, coordination of schedules of upcoming contacts and visits at various levels, development of the bilateral legal framework,” the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

One of the key topics discussed at the summit was food security, the main concern for the vast majority of the countries. This problem is especially acute for the African continent. “In this regard, the discussion touched upon Belarus' possible assistance to the region, including the supply of agricultural machinery and equipment, and specialist training services,” the ministry said. “The supply of Belarusian Halal agricultural products and opportunities for joint work with African countries was additionally discussed with the Gulf countries. A number of agreements have been reached, the implementation of which is set to begin in the near future.”

Countries advocate diversity of development paths

During the discussion of the global situation and interaction at multilateral platforms, the participants of the summit praised the convergence of approaches to key current issues. The parties spoke in favor of diversity of development paths, multipolarity, inadmissibility of pressure and imposition of alien values in international relations. They also stated that there was no alternative to a diplomatic way of resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

As part of the the summit Sergei Aleinik held brief talks with the presidents of Brazil and Iran, the prime minister of Bangladesh, the Chinese minister of foreign affairs, the head of Iranian diplomacy, the heads of the foreign ministries of India and Russia, the counterparts from Cuba, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, Burundi, Togo and the heads of a number of other delegations.

A call to recognize shared responsibility

During his speech at the BRICS Outreach plenary session Sergei Aleinik stressed that today the primary role should belong to structures that do not multiply dividing lines, but recognize shared responsibility for the present and common future of humanity. “Associations whose participants do not oppose each other, but together seek ways to move forward are relevant today as never before. Discrimination and neo-colonial approaches will become a thing of the past,” the minister said.

According to the minister, Belarus has something to offer to the organization. The country is ready to contribute to the maintenance of international food security.

Belarus also supports the BRICS intention to expand cooperation in logistics and cross-border e-commerce. Sergei Aleinik expressed Belarus’ readiness to join the BRICS efforts to expand mutual settlements in national currencies and develop common payment instruments.

The minister also confirmed the readiness of the Belarusian national team to take part in the BRICS Games in 2024 if invited.

What is BRICS?

BRICS is an informal interstate association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The member countries of the organization account for 26% of the Earth's territory, 42% of the world's population, and 31.5% of the world's GDP. This exceeds the G7 countries' record which is 30.7% of the world's GDP, about 20% of global trade and 25% of FDI.

The 15th BRICS summit in South Africa decided to admit Argentina, Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia to the organization on 1 January 2024.

In May 2023, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko officially expressed the country's intention to join the BRICS format.