The interest of many countries in BRICS speaks in favor of the fact that partners who understand the importance of platforms with already established interaction practices are gathering under its wing.
No matter how much is said today about the failure of most international structures, creating a new format that would be successful in acute crisis conditions is unlikely. In contrast to other international associations, BRICS is aimed at development, dialogue, preserving alternative viewpoints instead of deterrence, pressure, exclusion. The modern architecture of international governance requires a serious ideological justification. The BRICS value block meets the needs of most countries – solidary cooperation and partnership. These terms are largely emasculated due to Western approaches. At the same time, they constitute an alternative to the imposed democratic values, since they cannot be turned into weapons.
BRICS, in fact, is one of the few platforms that allows us to take a pragmatic look at the entire range of international problems.
It is obvious that there is a growing determination in the world to test alternative development options. Western models, including the G7 format, are not able to ensure the stable functioning of the global economic system. Opinions on creating a reserve currency that would reduce world dependence on the dollar have already been transformed into plans in the BRICS format. Expanding the use of national currencies in interstate settlements is the first step. However, the US dollar has come a long way to dominance and is provided with various mechanisms. Therefore, today the question is not the speed of implementation, but the fact that the process is running.
The BRICS Summit, which started on August 22, will inevitably outline ways of further international interaction in the context of global changes.
23 countries have officially applied for membership and about 20 have declared their desire to join the BRICS in an informal format – this is already the position and alignment of forces in world affairs. However, the success of BRICS in no way depends on quantitative indicators. The current situation requires a change of approaches. BRICS is more of a community of like-minded people, rather than a headquarters for decision-making. The tasks of reorganizing the international sphere will be solved locally. Therefore, the large-scale expansion of the BRICS is not the goal, according to the summit organizers. In other words, BRICS is us, and we are BRICS.
Belarus has an extensive experience working on international platforms. Participation in the BRICS summit solves several problems.
Belarusian diplomacy should be in the thick of world events, represent opinions and views of a country that is in the wake of transforming the international order. The economic agenda of the summit fully meets the goals of Belarus – accelerating growth and sustainable development. Therefore, it is important to clearly understand the interests of partners, the direction of their movement and coordinate actions in both regional and global formats. The humanitarian block, which is under the gun of the West, requires public discussion with an emphasis on new formats that can be implemented with the participation of Belarus.