Brazil Within BRICS Advocates for Reform of Global Governance, Including UN - Diplomat
04:30 GMT 22.10.2024 (Updated: 06:26 GMT 22.10.2024)
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KAZAN (Sputnik) - Brazil, within both BRICS and the G20, advocates for reform of global governance, which includes not only changes in the UN, but also in other international structures, because multilateral institutions are at a deadlock, Eduardo Paes Saboia, the secretary of Asia and the Pacific at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik.
"If you look at Brazil's priorities within the G20, there is the topic of overcoming poverty, sustainable development, climate change, and also reform of global governance. I think that BRICS also supports changes in global governance. Not only the UN, there are other multilateral institutions that are at a deadlock, such as the WTO," Saboia said.
He added that there were also many international agreements that were "being destroyed."
"Multilateralism is in crisis. BRICS, I hope, will help call for a reform of multilateral institutions and a stronger role for the UN in the international system," the Brazilian diplomat emphasized.
Saboia pointed out that Brazil supported the expansion of the UN Security Council.
"Exactly, this is a key aspect for BRICS and Brazil. Not only for Brazil, but also for other countries, for example, India, South Africa. If we look at crises, for example, in the Middle East, we can see the difficulties that the UN Security Council is facing. This is due to the fact that there is a structure that does not reflect modern reality: in terms of power, regional representation. There is a need not only for countries, but for the entire system. And this should be a priority on the BRICS agenda," he noted.
BRICS is not discussing the creation of a common currency, negotiations are underway on payment platforms and the use of national currencies, Eduardo Paes Saboia said.
"There is no such thing as a 'BRICS currency discussion.' There are different levels of technical discussions of payment platforms, the use of national currencies. These issues are being addressed at the level of finance ministries and central banks. They have been entrusted with this by the heads of state in Johannesburg. These issues can be very technical, you need to be consistent and professional," Saboia said.
He added that financial issues could become one of the priorities of the upcoming Brazilian presidency of BRICS.
A draft of the final declaration of the BRICS summit is being worked on, and its possible topics include both traditional issues of financial cooperation and new areas like artificial intelligence, Eduardo Paes Saboia said.
"The draft declaration is currently being worked on here, and it still needs to be adopted. We are interested in many topics. One of them is cooperation in the financial sector," Saboia said.
He expressed hope that the results of cooperation in the financial sector would be reflected in the final declaration of the BRICS leaders.
"We are [also interested] in the discussion around partner states. A hot topic that attracts a lot of attention from the media. New topics, such as artificial intelligence, are also important for the future, they are being discussed. I do not know what will be reflected, but this is a very important area. There are other topics," the diplomat emphasized.
He noted that a very long declaration was expected.
"Because the BRICS countries discussed many topics, ranging from the Middle East to information and communication technologies, climate. This is the first declaration of leaders with new members. It takes more time, because more countries are sitting at the table, they offer their ideas," the diplomat said.
Brazil does not rule out that the BRICS leaders may discuss the Ukrainian crisis during the summit in Russia this week, as this issue has already been mentioned earlier, Eduardo Paes Saboia said.
"We are here as sherpas. But the leaders will meet. And when leaders meet, they discuss whatever they want. I can’t guess exactly what they will discuss," Saboia said.
He added that the Ukrainian crisis has been mentioned in past declarations.
"There are already standard formulations on this [Ukrainian] issue in the declaration... Brazil has made efforts in this direction. Brazil and China have already presented some proposals... So we all hope that progress, a resolution will be achieved," the diplomat said.
According to Saboia, the very fact that BRICS leaders are meeting is positive, as they can listen to each other’s perspectives on a range of issues.
From October 22 to 24, the BRICS summit will be held in Kazan with the participation of heads of state. The Tatarstan authorities reported earlier that a large number of foreign delegations would arrive in Kazan — 33 countries have confirmed their participation in the BRICS summit, including 24 at the level of top officials.
