UN boss explains importance of BRICS

Antonio Guterres could not miss the chance to meet several world leaders at the economic bloc’s summit in Kazan, his spokesman has said

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is attending the BRICS Summit in Kazan because the Russia-hosted event is of great significance to the international organization, as the economic bloc represents nearly half of the global population, according to a UN spokesperson.

Leaders from all around the world have gathered in Kazan for the 16th BRICS Summit on October 22-24.

“This is a meeting of great importance for the work of the United Nations, with the BRICS countries representing about half of the world’s population,” deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. “The Secretary-General will take the opportunity to hold several bilateral meetings with the leaders attending the summit.”

The statement responded to a journalist’s inquiry regarding Kiev’s criticism of Guterres’ attendance at the BRICS Summit, especially after he opted to skip this year’s Swiss-hosted Ukraine ‘peace conference.’

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It is a “standard practice” for the UN Secretary-General to attend “meetings of organizations with significant numbers of important member states,” such as the G7 and G20, Haq explained.

“The Secretary-General will reaffirm his well-known positions on the war in Ukraine and the conditions for a just peace,” as well as address freedom of navigation in the Black Sea during the summit in Kazan, the spokesperson added.

Earlier this year, Switzerland hosted a gathering which revolved around Vladimir Zelensky’s “peace formula” – a ten-point wish list that Moscow has dismissed as delusional. Russia was not invited to the meeting, which has been widely perceived as a failure, yielding no concrete results.

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Meanwhile, the BRICS Summit is set to host high-level bilateral talks and diplomatic discussions focused on global multilateralism. With dozens of nations expressing interest in joining the economic bloc or cooperating with the group, current members have agreed to discuss offering partner status to some of these countries during the summit.

Current BRICS members include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Altogether, the economic bloc represents approximately 46% of the world’s population and over 36% of the planet’s GDP, according to estimates from leading financial institutions.