The BRICS Summit in Kazan has come to an end. The event had been attracting attention long before it began. How will the new BRICS members integrate into the Group? Will it be possible to avoid contradictions in the new expanded format? What will be the outlines of BRICS’ further development? All of these worries failed, and the Summit was truly historic for the entire Group, not only for Russia.
Overall Impression
41 delegations attended the Summit: 6 represented international organizations and 36 countries, 24 of which were heads of state and government. For the first time in five years, the leaders of China and India held joint talks, and the cordial atmosphere and focus on constructive cooperation were integral parts of the Summit.
One of the primary outcomes was the announcement of 13 countries as BRICS partner states. However, expansion of the Group will not be expected in the near future: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov announced in June 2024 BRICS’ decision to “take a pause” on inviting new members to join BRICS [1], and on the eve of the Kazan Summit, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey A. Ryabkov confirmed this commitment [2].
Additionally, the BRICS Nuclear Energy Platform was launched last week. It is expected to create additional opportunities for developing partnerships in nuclear energy. The Platform will include companies, professional nuclear communities, and non-profit organizations that support developing and implementing nuclear technologies [3].
An important point worth paying particular attention to is the announcement in paragraph 5 of the final declaration of BRICS plans to commit to further promoting BRICS institutional development. Such intentions are expected to be realized primarily in the economic sphere.
Before the Summit, Saudi Arabia’s participation status in BRICS raised the most questions. Having received an invitation to join BRICS last year, Riyadh did not reject it (as opposed to Argentina) and, therefore, automatically became a member of the Group of Ten from January 1 of this year. Representatives of Saudi Arabia have participated in a number of events of the Group this year and, for example, have attended the BRICS Sherpas/Sous-Sherpas Meeting several times. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, participated in the June BRICS Foreign Ministers/International Relations Meeting. However, he participated only in the meeting in an extended format. The Saudis have referred to the same practice in the Kazan Summit, but since Riyadh did not reject its application to become a BRICS member, it remains a member of the Group.
The Kazan Summit and International Security Issues in BRICS Activities
As in previous years, the BRICS final declaration mentioned international security issues. This time, attention was paid to them neither more nor less than before, although there are still differences compared to last year. Nevertheless, all possible updates were expected, and they were noted in the PIR Center report “International Security Issues in BRICS Agenda. Overview and Policy Recommendations,” which was released in July 2024, long before the Kazan declaration was adopted.
For example, the issues of chemical and biological weapons, which had been present in the text of the BRICS final declarations continuously since 2014, have disappeared from the BRICS agenda this year; references to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in this context have also gone. The same fate befell the final Statement of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations in June 2024. Such developments are related to Egypt’s accession to BRICS, which is not a signatory to the CWC and not a “full” party to the BWC (signed but not ratified). Most likely, it was Cairo that blocked the discussion of chemical and biological weapons.
The JCPOA is now being addressed from a different angle, resulting from the invitation of new participants from the Middle East. Whereas in 2023, the language referred to “the need to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through peaceful and diplomatic means,” this year’s language is limited to the importance of a “constructive approach to resume full implementation of the JCPOA commitments by all sides.”
After a long hiatus, BRICS resumed discussions on a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. It should be considered a contribution of the new member states of the Group. At the same time, for the first time, nuclear nonproliferation was mentioned outside the context of the Russian-American arms control dialog. Nonproliferation issues entered the BRICS agenda in 2020 in light of the possibility of non-renewal of the START-III treaty between Russia and the United States. In 2024, the BRICS approach changed, and now member states call “for the strengthening of nonproliferation and disarmament to safeguard and maintain global stability and international peace and security.”
BRICS could not avoid a topic that has become particularly important in recent years – ensuring the safety of civilian nuclear facilities. In this regard, the text of the BRICS Final Declaration strongly condemns “all terrorist attacks against critical cross-border energy infrastructure and calls for an open and unbiased approach to investigating such incidents.”
The unity of the BRICS countries in this area could potentially achieve practical success, which could be realized by promoting initiatives to adopt international legal instruments. As PIR Center’s report (in Russian) on the safety of civilian nuclear facilities during armed conflicts noted, it is essential to maintain the international community’s attention to the nuclear security agenda. It is necessary to strengthen awareness-raising efforts, first of all, to form universal norms and rules to ensure the safety of civilian nuclear facilities during armed conflicts, and they should be based on the five principles of nuclear safety set forth by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in May 2023.
Overall, the wording on terrorism, preventing an arms race in outer space, and using information and communication technologies for criminal purposes was consistent. It should be mentioned that the BRICS countries have reached a “ceiling” in discussing these issues, and the lack of innovation should not be perceived as a drawback. At the same time, the Kazan Declaration found space to mention and note the outcomes of the first cross-border BRICS Rapid Information Security Channel (BRISC) drills.
Eventual Outcomes
The primary outcome of the Summit is that all the new BRICS members have successfully integrated into the Group’s agenda. There are still some bumps within the core events – and this is normal, as BRICS cooperation practices have been developed over the past 15 years – but overall, the integration of the new members has been successful.
The fears that contradictions within the Group would partially paralyze its activities were groundless: previously, China and India were the most apparent opponents, but now Iran and Egypt, Iran and the Persian Gulf countries, and to a lesser extent, Egypt and Ethiopia have been added to them. Adopting the Kazan Declaration, which consists of 134 points, 40 points or 42% more than the one adopted in South Africa in 2023, not only refutes such predictions but also proves that BRICS is a unique platform that will continue to develop.
In an interview for the Security Index Yearbook, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey A. Ryabkov said: “BRICS is an innovative format of interstate cooperation, bringing together different cultures and civilizations, countries with different economic and political systems, and often different views on some issues on the global agenda. Our common goal is a firm commitment to pursuing an independent domestic and foreign policy, defending sovereignty and our national interests. Over the years of cooperation in BRICS, a special culture of dialogue has emerged, and open and trustful relations have been established based on the principles of sovereign equality, respect for the choice of individual development paths, and consideration of each other’s interests.”
Sources:
- Лавров сообщил о решении БРИКС «взять паузу» по вопросу вступления новых членов // «Известия». 25 июня 2024. URL: https://iz.ru/1718265/2024-06-25/lavrov-soobshchil-o-reshenii-briks-vziat-pauzu-po-voprosu-vstupleniia-novykh-chlenov
- Интервью заместителя Министра иностранных дел Российской Федерации С.А. Рябкова для газеты «Политика» (Сербия) // МИД России: официальный сайт. 22 октября 2024 г. URL: https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1976992/
- БРИКС готовится стать драйвером развития мирового мирного атома // РИА Новости. 19 октября 2024 г. URL: https://ria.ru/20241019/briks-1978850475.html
Key words: BRICS: International Security
BRICS
F4/SOR – 24/10/25
