Friday, October 25, 2024
Successful BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia
October 22-24
Consolidation of Opposition to
U.S. Global
Hegemony
• Consolidation of Opposition to U.S. Global Hegemony
Successful BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia
October 22-24
Consolidation of Opposition to U.S. Global Hegemony
The BRICS 16th Annual Summit was very successfully held in Kazan, Russia from October 22 to 24. The Summit revealed greater cooperation of its members on its various fronts of work to facilitate economic cooperation and resolve international problems without resorting to violence and war.
A consistent theme of the Summit was the development of relations among nations that respect each member's sovereignty and independent thinking and way of life. This requires a renewed international governance system based on equality among nations, including reform of the United Nations Security Council.
Another important theme was the advancement of international trade and commerce for mutual benefit and duty to provide assistance to the least developed countries of the world. Emphasis was put on avoiding any use of trade to exploit others or weaponizing of the global monetary system, which have become common practices of U.S. imperialism.
The U.S. use of its industrial and military power and control of international institutions and dollar dominance to perpetuate U.S. hegemony was discussed. The negative practices of the U.S. to exploit others and steal their social value and resources in its striving for global hegemony were exposed as problems to be overcome on a global scale through organized cooperation and collective action.
Concrete examples were discussed on how to avoid U.S. control by acting as an organized force, such as by using national currencies in trade rather than the U.S. dollar, working together to circumvent U.S.-imposed sanctions on individual members and supporters, and demanding, with a unified voice, more equitable terms of trade and general relations with Group of Seven member countries (G7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States). BRICS is already making strides in this direction, challenging the U.S. and strengthening its ability to do so as it expands to include more countries.
Methods and mechanisms were also discussed for solving problems in relations among peoples and nations without violence. Emphasis was placed on unifying their voice to stop the U.S./Zionist genocide of Palestinians and attacks on Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran and to demand U.S./NATO commence peace negotiations with Russia to end its proxy war in Ukraine.
A Powerful Organized Force for Change
The original BRICS members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – have now been joined by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An additional 34 countries have begun the process to join or have expressed interest in doing so, including 13 which have become partner countries: Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Türkiye, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
BRICS member countries now account for a combined Gross Domestic Product of 35.6 per cent of the global total, exceeding the GDP of the G7. and its purchasing power parity (PPP), a measure to compare the purchasing power of the countries' currencies. In the past decade, BRICS member states accounted for more than 40 per cent of the global GDP increase.
Their population represents nearly half of the world's total and they occupy more than one-third of Earth's land mass. BRICS members' global trade accounts for one-fifth of all such trade including about a quarter of the world's exports of goods, especially metals and food, and over 40 per cent of all oil production.
Eloquent and United Expression of Concern
and Demand for Change
The Summit was a united expression of the concern of countries throughout the world with the present international economic and political direction and their demands for change. The level of discussion, the tone and caliber of the exchanges and the rational approach taken was dignified and raised the level of political discourse, so much needed and so much wanted. There was no hint of the hooliganism and disinformation the U.S. and its allies are known for.
Economic, political, social and environmental problems have multiplied by leaps and bounds since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the 1989-1991 period. The broad striving of U.S. imperialism for control of a world under its "rules-based international order" has led to one failure after the other while its insistence on destroying anything it cannot control has given rise to extreme violence. Direct and proxy wars of destruction have proliferated, generating untold death and misery and dislocation for tens of millions of people, and the destruction of their countries. U.S. authority is clashing with the economic, social, natural and political conditions in the U.S. and internationally.
The BRICS group of nations is emerging as a powerful organized force for change, assisting one another to overcome the obstacles posed by the U.S. imperialist dominance of international trade, commerce and finance.
Change is demanded. It exists independent of anyone's will and the peoples of the world are in motion to bring it about. The Resistance Forces are making important contributions but the international system continues to keep the initiative out of their hands such as when it comes to ending the extreme violence and ability of U.S/Zionist forces and Genocide Cartel to act with impunity in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Many countries are taking concrete steps to challenge U.S. authority.
The growing popularity and influence of the BRICS organization of nations is an example. BRICS members are putting into practice mechanisms to bypass and even negate the nefarious U.S. efforts to completely control world trade, commerce, finance and politics. As expected, the U.S. is employing pressure and blackmail to prevent the growth and success of BRICS but is having only limited success.
(With files from Xinhua, Russia Today, TASS.)
Kazan Declaration
The BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 24 adopted the Kazan Declaration,
a comprehensive document that reflects the collective vision and goals
of the BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the declaration has
been approved
by all member nations and will be distributed to the United Nations as
a key expression of global multilateralism
The declaration is comprised of 134 points, divided into several sections. Its thrust is notably different to declarations from blocs such as the G7, EU and NATO that are dominated by the U.S. and European powers, that seek to dictate to other countries, especially to admonish and isolate those countries that will not submit to foreign dictate.
The introductory section (points 1-5) states:
1. We, the Leaders of BRICS countries, met in Kazan, Russian Federation, from 22 to 24 October 2024 for the XVI BRICS Summit held under the theme: "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security."
2. We reiterate the importance of further enhancing BRICS solidarity and cooperation based on our mutual interests and key priorities and further strengthening our strategic partnership.
3. We reaffirm our commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration and consensus. As we build upon 16 years of BRICS Summits, we further commit ourselves to strengthening cooperation in the expanded BRICS under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, cultural and people-to-people cooperation and to enhancing our strategic partnership for the benefit of our people through the promotion of peace, a more representative, fairer international order, a reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, sustainable development and inclusive growth.
4. We commend the Russian BRICS Chairship for hosting an "outreach"/"BRICS Plus" Dialogue with participation of EMDCs [emerging markets and developing countries] from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Middle East under the motto: "BRICS and Global South: Building a Better World Together" in Kazan on 24 October 2024.
5. We welcome the considerable interest by countries of the Global South in BRICS and we endorse the Modalities of BRICS Partner Country Category. We strongly believe that extending the BRICS partnership with EMDCs will further contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity and true international cooperation for the benefit of all. We commit to further promoting BRICS institutional development.
The second section is titled, "Strengthening Multilateralism for
a More Just
and Democratic World Order" and contains points 6-23. The next
section
titled, "Enhancing Cooperation for Global and Regional
Stability and Security" contains points 24-56 and addresses
matters such as the
U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza and attacks on Lebanon, as well as
the
U.S./NATO proxy war in Ukraine. The section titled, "Fostering
Economic and Financial Cooperation for Just Global Development"
contains points 57-118 which deal with economic and financial
matters of common concern.
The last section is titled, "Strengthening People-to-People Exchanges for Social and Economic Development" and contains points 119-134. It addresses the importance of exchange between the peoples of the BRICS countries to enhance "mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation" in the fields of "education, science, culture, communication and information in view of the complexity of contemporary challenges and transformations and in this regard note the relevance of the principles set forth in the UNESCO Constitution and its mandate to foster cooperation and peace through international collaboration that should be based on equality, dialogue, mandated programmatic activities and the spirit of consensus."
The declaration concludes by saying, "We extend full support to Brazil for its BRICS Chairship in 2025 and the holding of the XVII BRICS Summit in Brazil."
For the full text of the declaration, click here.
Feeble U.S. Response
It would be an obvious understatement to say that BRICS and its expansion are yet another foreign policy failure for the U.S. Biden administration and its attempts to isolate countries like Russia and China. It puts a spoke in the wheels of the U.S. striving to enforce its global hegemony and control over all countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Europe and Oceania. So too the foreign strategy of countries like Canada which marches in lockstep with the U.S., is left flapping in the wind.
The feeble response of the U.S. to the BRICS Summit was evident on October 23 when, even as the BRICS Summit was in session in Kazan, Russia, heralding long-awaited results to dislodge dollar hegemony and U.S. control over the world's financial architecture, the White House announced that the United States is using its control of the international banking system to use seized Russian assets to the tune of $20 billion to provide loans to Ukraine. According to the White House announcement, the "loans" to Ukraine "will be paid back by the interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets."
An estimated $300 billion in sovereign Russian assets, most of which are held in Europe, were seized by the U.S. and its accomplices in crime in the UK, Europe and Canada. This violated the most fundamental premise of contract law at the base of the juridical system which sustains what is called civil society and its democratic institutions.
The seizure of the Russian assets, as had already been done to Iran, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Venezuela and other countries, coupled with crippling sanctions to deprive countries of their sovereign right to engage in free trade according to regulations established by international institutions, shows that the rule of law based on the sanctity of private property no longer exists.
The Russian Embassy in the U.S. pointed out in a statement, "It is clear even to the average person what is truly 'significant' in this case is the theft elevated here to the rank of state policy."
"The neo-colonial deals of a small group of countries led by the United States have long and deservedly aroused a sharp rejection by the global majority," the statement said. "The results of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, which confirmed the need for multilateral efforts to build a truly independent financial architecture that would be protected from such blatant illegal actions, are the clearest proof of this," the embassy stated.
(TASS)
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