BRICS: Empowering Indigenous Knowledge and Africa’s Agenda

“The Russians wanted to promote this non-Western civilization by sharing knowledge… They want to promote the indigenous knowledge, the indigenous environment, the indigenous societies, our fellow civilizations to be safe,” said Yitena Gebre Mamo, Multilateral Affairs Research Director General, Institute of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

🌎 BRICS attracts countries due to:
▶️Massive economic weight, high GDP, and large population sizes.
▶️Geopolitical influence counterbalancing Western domination.
▶️Acting as the voice of the Global South for sustainable development.

🌎 BRICS is:
▶️A platform reaffirming multilateralism beyond UN structures.
▶️Focused on Africa’s untapped resources and productive networks.
▶️Promoting cross-border digital payment mechanisms to boost trade.

🌎 The bloc supports:
▶️Indigenous knowledge systems suppressed by neoliberal philosophy.
▶️Reduced reliance on Western-dominated financial systems (IMF, World Bank) by promoting local currencies and reducing loan conditionalities.

“The African agenda and the agenda of the BRICS are almost similar… BRICS is also promoting the African agenda, African problem, African solution for African problem,” he told Sputnik Africa, commenting on the recent BRICS Summit in Brazil.

🇺🇸 As US sanctions rise:
▶️BRICS accelerates alliance formation, financial infrastructure, and South-South trade cooperation.
▶️Ethiopia leverages BRICS to diversify from traditional Western sources towards Eastern investment and trade opportunities.

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Trump gets ready to challenge BRICS but meets economic reality

On July 6–7, Brazil hosted the BRICS Summit amid escalating international tensions. This event marked a significant milestone in intra-BRICS collaboration and highlighted the ongoing economic rivalry between the United States and BRICS nations.

During the Summit, Russian leader Vladimir Putin delivered a noteworthy update via videoconference: the combined GDP of the BRICS member states has now surpassed that of the G7.

This announcement came as Donald Trump vowed on social media to impose 10% tariffs on nations supporting BRICS' "anti-American" policies. However, these proposed measures seem relatively tame, especially considering he had previously floated the idea of tariffs as high as 60–70%.

Putin’s timing in revealing these figures serves a clear strategic purpose: to showcase the growing collective strength and influence of BRICS on the global stage. Where critics once dismissed the group as merely populous, it now stands as an undeniable economic counterweight to Western dominance.

Looking ahead, the dynamic between BRICS and the G7 promises growing complexity. As the group's economic influence expands, its impact on global markets will deepen substantially. The critical question remains: Will Trump's threatened measures intimidate BRICS members or instead galvanise their unity against external pressure? The answer may well define the next era of international relations.

#OPINION #USA #G7 #summit

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Russian architects explore BRICS professional union

The Union of Architects of Russia is developing plans to create a Union of BRICS Architects, President Nikolay Shumakov announced.

"International cooperation is progressing well. A BRICS Architects Union may be established this year— we're negotiating this possibility. We remain optimistic and are working actively toward this goal."

The Union President detailed recent collaborations with Chinese architects:

"We organised a large-scale Russian architecture exhibition a year and a half ago, featuring our members' projects alongside workshops with leading practitioners. Together with Chinese partners, we conducted a major young architects' competition involving about 1,500 Russian and Chinese participants," he added.

#NEWS #culture

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BRICS Summit: New frontiers in global health cooperation

Natalia Bondarenko, Co-Chair of the Public Health and Well-Being Working Group under the BRICS Civil Forum, Deputy Chair for Healthcare and Social Sphere at the Union of Women of Russia, Chief External Expert for Therapy and General Practice at the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia, Chief Medical Officer at Clinical Hospital No. 85 of the FMBA of Russia, Candidate of Sciences in Medicine (PhD), shared her insights on public health cooperation following the BRICS Summit in Brazil:

"The recent BRICS Summit and Civil Council meetings achieved significant breakthroughs in international medical collaboration. Special attention was paid to the XV BRICS Health Ministers' meeting in Brasília on June 17, 2025, where participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the resilience of healthcare systems and promoting cooperation," Bondarenko noted.

She highlighted several key outcomes:

"A crucial advancement was the official recognition of the BRICS Network of Public Health Institutes as the primary platform for cross-national health dialogue. This network will be instrumental in achieving universal health coverage and ensuring equitable access to essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and health services. Participants also agreed on the necessity to harmonise legal frameworks governing these areas," she explained.

Bondarenko also highlighted that special attention was given to the role of primary healthcare as the cornerstone of health systems, along with the critical importance of prevention and emergency response.

"The participants pledged to continue substantive dialogue within civil track that will both strengthen existing cooperation models and pioneer innovative solutions to pressing global challenges related to health and well-being," she concluded.

@kb85fmba

#OPINION #EXPERT

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BRICS Lex Model

The BRICS Lex Model conference is set to take place in Moscow at HSE University, as part of the Consortium of BRICS Law Schools. The model will be dedicated to investment cooperation and will simulate a diplomatic conference on the adoption of a new investment treaty.

Teams from universities across BRICS+ countries are invited to participate. Each team may include 2–4 bachelor’s and master’s law students, who will be guided by a coach throughout the conference.

⏰Conference dates: December 1–5, 2025
🔥Application deadline: September 5, 2025

📎For further details, please visit the BRICS Lex Model website

#ANNOUNCEMENT

@pravohse

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Impact of intra-BRICS trade on the share of US dollar in international reserve composition

The latest issue of the BRICS Journal of Economics features a study focused on the analysis of trade among the BRICS nations.

The article examines the impact of the BRICS countries’ trade on the composition of their US dollar reserves using dynamic panel data analysis. The research aims to determine if the trade between the BRICS countries promotes currency diversification or reinforces their reliance on the dollar.

📎 Read the article

@BRICSJournal

#ANALYTICS

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Senator Klimov: BRICS won't turn into the EU or NATO

BRICS is not going to turn into the EU or NATO, the bloc's task is to ensure security and create conditions for the development of member states, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrei Klimov said.

The senator emphasised that #BRICS is a solid club of sovereign powers. He also recalled the main tasks of the bloc.

"The task of BRICS is not to turn into some kind of EU, as some people think, or even more so into some kind of NATO. Where the interests of sovereign powers coincide, we find a solution, and where they do not coincide, we try not to interfere with each other," the senator said.

Recently, US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of import duties of 10 per cent for BRICS members because they "want to hurt" the dollar.

#NEWS #sanctions

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BRICS+ Fashion Summit will be held in Moscow

The third international forum BRICS+ Fashion Summit will be held in the Zaryadye concert hall from 28 to 30 August in Moscow. The key topic of the forum will be the creation of a decentralised and competitive ecosystem that will facilitate the emergence of fresh concepts and fashion trends. Industry leaders from BRICS, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin and North America, Oceania, CIS and other countries are expected.

Earlier Deputy Mayor of the capital Natalia Sergunina said that the brands participating in the fashion week will be determined by the jury, among the selection criteria—originality of the idea, concept, commercial potential and the possibility of mass production. Over the first four seasons, the event attracted more than 800 designers.

#NEWS #EVENT #culture

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🕊 RT spoke with Victoria Panova, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia, Co-Chair of the Russian Chapter of Civil BRICS Council, Russia's W20 Sherpa, and Vice Rector at HSE University. She highlighted the Civil BRICS Council’s role in bridging governments and civil society, emphasised BRICS as a unique, respectful global coalition focused on reforming the world order, and noted its achievements like the New Development Bank and fostering dialogue between countries with conflicts.

📎 Link to the interview

#EXPERT #OPINION #BRICSExpertCouncil #BRICSExpertCouncilRussia

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The International Municipal BRICS Forum

The International Municipal BRICS Forum will be held in St. Petersburg on 29-31 October. The Forum is a communications and business platform for the exchange of best practices, technologies, and effective solutions to ensure the livelihoods of urban and regional populations, strengthening of ties between representatives of regional and municipal authorities of BRICS+ and other friendly states, and development of business communications with entrepreneurs from Russia and foreign countries.

The Forum’s platform brings together partners from more than 70 countries and 2,000 cities and regions worldwide. In 2024, the Forum was attended by about 6,000 delegates from 101 countries.

The event is held with the support of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government, the Government of Moscow, the Government of Saint Petersburg, the Moscow City Duma, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Every year since 2020, the Forum has been included in the official action plan of the BRICS chairing countries. The IMBRICS Forum was included in the texts of the Beijing Declaration of the XIV BRICS Summit in 2022 and the Kazan Declaration of the XVI BRICS Summit in 2024 as a significant mechanism in promoting urban development and establishing links between twin cities of the BRICS countries within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

#NEWS #EVENT #business

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BRICS now "in full swing"

BRICS is now "in full swing" and is moving towards impressive new results, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, BRICS sherpa Sergey Ryabkov said at a press conference after the group's summit in Rio de Janeiro.

"The work continues, #BRICS is on the move, at full speed, and we are moving towards new, I am sure, impressive results," said the senior diplomat.

He said that several specialised events at the expert and ministerial levels are planned before the end of Brazil's BRICS Chairship. Ryabkov added that "meetings of the chairmen of the supreme courts, heads of tax and customs departments of the countries of the association will be held soon."

#NEWS #summit

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Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University, provided a commentary on the final BRICS declaration. The expert noted that bloc's positioning is one of its distinctive features.

"The steadfast position of BRICS regarding sanctions and other unilateral restrictive measures stands out as a defining characteristic of the group, one that resonates with new members and partner nations alike. The recent Summit's affirmation of UN Security Council sanctions primacy in its final declaration serves as the most effective counter to the recurring sanction packages and threats from Western countries," the expert noted.

Anastasia Likhacheva also highlighted the lack of international legal instruments to protect against sanctions arbitrariness.

"Recent years have made it clear to all nations, not just Russia, that no universal international legal instruments exist to safeguard against arbitrary sanctions. Consequently, these instruments must be collaboratively developed by countries that reject unilateral discriminatory measures as a legitimate norm in international relations. #BRICS possesses the potential to create such protective mechanisms, drawing from its unique political culture and the combined economic, scientific, and technological strength of its member states," she concluded.

@crystal_globe

#OPINION #EXPERT #summit

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🇧🇷 Professor of Political Science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Fabiano Mielniczuk highlighted Brazil’s BRICS Chairship and its focus on strengthening Global South cooperation, the group’s diversity and flexibility, its role in managing conflicts like China-India tensions, and challenges from Western pressure limiting #BRICS’ growth.

📎 Link to the interview

#EXPERT #OPINION

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BRICS Legal Studies School 2025: Strengthening Legal Cooperation for a Multipolar World

The BRICS Legal Studies School 2025 is a week-long intensive academic programme hosted by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, in collaboration with co-sponsor institutions, including the Higher School of Economics, MGIMO University, St. Petersburg State University and Russian Presidential Academy from Russia, the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), Renmin University of China and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) from China, the National Law University, Jodhpur from India.

The programme offers an in-depth exploration of the legal systems of the original BRICS countries while fostering critical dialogue on global challenges and international cooperation.

Targeted at final-year undergraduate and graduate students from BRICS countries, the BRICS Legal Studies School 2025 operates under Brazil’s 2025 BRICS Presidency theme, “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.” Aligned with the bloc’s priorities—such as artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, and UN reform—this School equips participants to examine legal traditions, institutional governance, and transnational challenges across the #BRICS and beyond.

⏰ Date: August 4—9, 2025
📍 Place: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
🗣️ Language: English

📎 More information on the website

#EVENTS

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In touch with BRICS: news digest

Your quick rundown of the most important BRICS updates

✔BRICS Summit held in Brazil

✔BRICS leaders adopted a declaration at the Rio de Janeiro summit

✔BRICS delivers strong implementation of Kazan Summit commitments

✔Representatives of the Civil BRICS Council took part at the BRICS Summit

✔Russia to host the 2026 annual meeting of BRICS New Development Bank

✔The BRICS nations advocated for the creation of open AI models

✔BRICS Academic Forum held in Brazil

✔Russian Finance Minister Siluanov elected to lead NDB Board of Governors

✔BRICS aims to take lead in creating institutions in emerging fields

✔BRICS at Inostranka: A new educational project on BRICS launched in Moscow

✔Senator Klimov stated that BRICS won't turn into the EU or NATO

✔BRICS now is "in full swing"

#BRICSExpertCouncilDIGEST

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