A Greater Voice for Developing Countries

Haibin Niu    source：CFR

This year’s BRICS summit attracted unusual international attention, largely because of its relevance to the increasing importance of the Global South in today’s world affairs. More than twenty countries formally expressed their willingness to join the BRICS, which likely prompted the Group of Seven countries to strengthen their outreach to the Global South at this year’s Hiroshima summit. It appears that both the G7 and BRICS are competing for influence in the Global South.

The Global South’s economic growth potential and increasing security influence is contributing to its rising global importance. The United States and European Union have proposed their version of infrastructure and development initiatives, following China’s Belt and Road Initiative, that will ideally free more resources for the Global South countries to achieve their respective sustainable development goals.

However, the G7 engagement and the BRICS engagement toward the Global South differ significantly. The G7 only occasionally invites Global South countries for partial dialogues. The BRICS have now recruited six influential full members from the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. This expansion also shows the ability of the five established BRICS members to reach consensus. In addition, the BRICS foreign ministers are developing partner country models to further meet the engagement demands from other countries in the Global South.

The BRICS vision is to demand a greater voice for developing countries in world affairs, as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa referenced at the recent summit when recalling the Bandung Conference of 1955. Given that the next three G20 chairs are BRICS members, the Global South’s voice will be integrated into the G20 agenda. In addition, BRICS leaders showed appreciation for the African Leaders Peace Mission’s proposal for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis. Both demonstrate that the BRICS prioritizes the Global South’s agenda and demands for international influence and respect, something the G7 appears to be approaching differently. In this perspective, it may be a clue to the rising attractiveness of the BRICS for Global South countries.

Source: https://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/global-memos/brics-summit-2023-seeking-alternate-world-order