The Future of Geopolitical Cooperation - South Africa and the Outcomes of the 15th BRICS Summit

Описание: The 15th BRICS Summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 22 to 24 August. It was the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia - Ukraine war that the Summit took place in person. The current geopolitical situation as well as discussions about an expansion of the BRICS group and the replacement of the US dollar as the global currency had already drawn international interest in the run-up to the summit. Accordingly, the decision of the BRICS to expand the group by six countries attracted attention worldwide: With Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates set to join the alliance in January 2024, the so-called “BRICS Plus” countries will generate 37% of global economic output and account for 46% of the world's population. The geopolitical influence of the bloc is growing accordingly. Further expansions could also occur in the future, as announced by South Africa's President and current chairman of the BRICS group, Cyril Ramaphosa.

We discussed the most important outcomes of this year's BRICS Summit and how they will affect international financial and trade policy as well as the global order with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and our panelists H.E. Prof Dr Anil Sooklal, South African Ambassador at Large for Asia and BRICS and South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa, Gustavo de Carvalho, Senior Researcher on Russia-Africa relations, South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA), Prof Cedric de Coning, Senior Advisor, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Prof Dr Christian von Soest, Head of Research Programme "Peace and Security", German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), and Prof Siphamandla Zondi, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Johannesburg