India "fully supports the expansion" of the BRICS group, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, as the leaders of the five major emerging economies met for the second day of the BRICS summit. "We welcome moving forward with consensus on this," Modi said in his opening remarks at the meeting in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The comments were the clearest indication yet that India would back plans to expand the grouping beyond the five core members. Russia and China are championing expansion, with South Africa also in support, as President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Sunday. Analysts have previously suggested that India and Brazil, countries which traditionally put non-alignment at the core of foreign policy, may not be as enthusiastic about expansion. South African officials say more than 40 countries from the Global South have shown interest in joining BRICS, with more than 20 making formal requests to join. Longstanding divisions re-emerged on the first day of talks on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency reported. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the grouping should not seek to rival the United States and G7 economies. Brazil was thought to be the main holdout to expansion, because of fears it would dilute the group's influence. But on Tuesday Lula said he wants to see Brazil's neighbor and largest trade partner Argentina join the group. "It is very important for Argentina to be in BRICS," Lula said. Argentina is struggling with historic inflation, a lack of foreign reserves and burdensome debt repayments as part of a $44bn loan deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lula criticized the IMF's loans as "suffocating" and hinted at the possibility of the BRICS bank increasing lending to other countries with "different criteria" to stimulate their economies. "We want BRICS to be a multilateral institution, not an exclusive club," Lula said. Any new members would need to meet certain conditions, so the group does not become a "Tower of Babel", he said. Ramaphosa, Lula, Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were attending the three-day summit in person, with Russian President Vladimir Putin attending virtually. Ramaphosa took a moment to congratulate Modi on the country's successful attempt to land Chandrayaan-3 on the moon today. "This for us, as the BRICS family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you," he said. In the leaders' remarks on Wednesday, they highlighted different priority areas for their respective countries. Ramaphosa focused on partnerships with Africa and how BRICS could put the continent's interests on the agenda. He also said an announcement would be made with regard to proposed changes the grouping hopes to implement related to the international financial system. "We are concerned that global financial and payment systems are increasingly being used as instruments of geopolitical contestation. Global economic recovery relies on predictable global payment systems and the smooth operating of banking, supply chains, trade, tourism, as well as financial flows," Ramaphosa said. Speaking via video stream, Putin criticized "ongoing neocolonialism" and countries that promote their own hegemony. He also said Russia is open to dialogue to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine, which Russian forces invaded in February 2022. It is not for the first time, Putin has blamed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the West. In his analysis, the crisis began with the change of government in Ukraine in 2014 — what Putin called a "coup d'etat". After the change of government, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, had proxy forces capture parts of Ukraine's east, and launched its bloody full-scale invasion in 2022. After blaming the West for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin said a priority for Brics is the establishment of new, sustainable, safe transport routes, such as the "north-south corridor" that would link Russian ports to sea terminals in the Gulf and Indian Ocean. He also discussed "bolstered partnership in science and innovation, healthcare, education, the development of humanitarian ties in general, cultural and civilizational diversity". Lula said that BRICS countries are ready to join efforts to seek an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. He also highlighted other conflicts that he said do not receive the attention that they should. "All deserve to live in peace," he said. He also highlighted "decolonizing our economies" and paying more attention to the climate crisis. Besides endorsing expansion, Modi focused on the successes of the grouping over the last 15 years, specifically the New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank working with emerging markets, and the "financial safety net" of contingent reserve arrangement, which works as a liquidity mechanism to support BRICS countries struggling with payments. Xi said he was glad that so many countries are enthusiastic about possibly joining BRICS. He also highlighted the importance of stability and certainty, and said there was a need to deepen cooperation to build growth. He criticized a new "Cold War mentality" across the globe, and said that countries should "respect all modernization paths" that individual nations choose for themselves. "Development is not a privilege of the few," Ramaphosa reiterated, saying the BRICS group should remain united and also play a key role in working to stabilize the world. The BRICS summit 2023 kicked off on Tuesday in Johannesburg with a business forum that saw representatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa highlight key issues such as enhancing agricultural trade within the bloc along with developing small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and economic cooperation. The representatives addressed the disparities among member nations to boost collective agricultural trade and suggested an increase in import-export activity of agricultural goods within the bloc. The BRICS nations are a powerhouse of agriculture in both consumption and production, accounting for billions of dollars in trade annually. However, a big chunk of this trade happens with countries outside BRICS – Europe and the US – due to trade barriers within the bloc and a lack of infrastructure necessary to facilitate wide-scale agricultural trade. However, discussions at the forum also shed a light on the bloc's plans to develop small and medium scale enterprises through implementing friendly government policies, promoting open markets, and adopting multilateral treaty systems outlined by the World Trade Organization. The bloc of countries wants to expand their influence on global economic and political affairs. The ongoing invasion of Ukraine is their first target. The leaders of China and South Africa say they want to be part of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. "The two sides... agreed that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable option for resolving the Ukraine conflict, and they will continue to promote talks for peace and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the issue," said a joint statement released on Tuesday. — Agencies
