The visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Beijing to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China was clearly intended to convince the Chinese side that security for the 18th BRICS Summit to be held in Delhi on September 12-13 would be waterproof. There would be no danger caused to any of the galaxy of world leaders who would be attending. The list includes the leaders of the members of BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, besides leaders from South America and West Asia. Small wonder that BRICS Plus is not looked upon with favour by the White House, for in purely economic terms, it leaves the other significant grouping, that of the G7, behind. While the BRICS countries have moved at speed economically and socially, the G7 is a relative laggard, with very low rates of annual economic growth. In time, Africa and South America will outstrip Europe in economic terms, and being part of the expanded BRICS (BRICS Plus) assists in such a progression.
China considers itself the first among equals in BRICS, with its superpower status and its rank as being just below the US in terms of economic growth. The Chinese leader, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, will also stop over on a separate visit to Washington for his return summit with President Trump, a sworn foe of BRICS. It is a safe bet that Ajit Doval would have convinced the Chinese side that Xi and his large entourage would be safe in New Delhi, and hence that there ought to be no obstacle to the CCP General Secretary coming to India for the BRICS Summit. His visit would be a message to the world that China cannot be intimidated by the United States, and the same goes for the host country, India, and its leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hopefully, because Delhi is a neutral venue, Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva will be in attendance at the Summit.
His leadership of Brazil has been outstanding in terms of the attention he has paid to the lower strata of Brazilian society, in contrast to several of his predecessors. Space and more generally technology are the new frontier. In times past, it was land space, now it is virtual space that needs to be conquered. In the future, it will be the quality of education and the quantum of energy that separate winners from losers in the race to the summit of economic progress. Brazil is a country holding great promise for India. Were academies to be set up teaching the Portuguese language to young citizens of India, several hundred thousand could settle in Brazil, which has gargantuan resources but a shortage of manpower relative to need and potential. Whether it be in providing teachers for schools, professors for universities or scientists in laboratories, India and Brazil are ideal partners. Their cultures mesh beautifully, and both peoples have a warm, outgoing nature.
President Lula and his delegation would be an important part of the pull asides and delegation level talks that would take place at the Summit. Another potentially close partner is South Africa, and were IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) to collaborate on the discovery and development of rare earths, the share of IBSA in the utilisation of rare earths would rise substantially. As for space, the three countries could collaborate on that. The field has become important for ensuring mapping of regions and natural resources, as well as being a technology booster. In the case of India, the space program has assisted in the development of technology in several fields, including in improving agricultural development as well as in helping to deal most optimally with natural disasters.
President Lula has set an example to the world by slowing down the depredations on the natural resources of Brazil indulged in by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, for whom the future did not matter, only wealth here and now did. Altogether, the auguries are promising for all BRICS members and BRICS Plus partner countries to attend the 18th BRICS Summit at Delhi, a landmark event not just for the grouping and for the host country but the entire world. In case the Summit agrees on freedom of access to all BRICS and BRICS Plus countries in the Persian Gulf, it would be very beneficial for promoting global prosperity. The future is in the Global South, and the BRICS Summit will show why such a proposition is accurate.
