It all began in 2001, when Goldman Sachs’ then chairman, Jim O’niel coined an acronym to describe economies predicted to dominate the world by 2050. It was then BRIC. the founding members of the bloc being Brazil, Russia, India, China. South Africa joined the grouping in 2011. The group now makes up more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and over a quarter of the global economy. The aim of BRICS was to change the narrative of a Western dominated world order. Some see it as a geopolitical rival to the G7.
The 16th BRICS Summit under Russia’s Chairship was held on 22-24 October in Kazan. I along with my editor-in-chief Nitin Gokhale reached kazan on the 21st reached Kazan to cover the event. The next morning, as we made our way through the city, a summit was waiting for us. We headed towards the Expo, which was at the Kazan Airport. And as soon as I entered the media centre, it was teeming. Media houses, big and small were in attendance.
Although everyone was busy, some managed to take time out to get to know each other. When language becomes a barrier, emotions triumph.
As we kept getting live updates in the lounge about developments at the summit, our editor in chief reported the same… live on StratNews and BharatShakti. And that wasn’t all. Several other channels, Indian and foreign…leveraged his expertise.
This year 5 new members were inducted into BRICS- Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Kazan Declaration… adopted at the end of the summit… called for UN reforms while reaffirming the commitment to multipolarity and a non-western world order.
A new BRICS Clearing System was also proposed, primarily to circumvent the western financial networks and consequently west imposed sanctions.
Putin also teased a symbolic BRICS banknote, stirring debate over the US dollar’s dominance and de-dollarisation.
Another major development involved India and China, primarily focusing on disengagement and patrolling in eastern Ladakh. After 5 years, it was the first meeting between the Indian Prime Minister and the Chinese President. India and China agreed to a deal under which patrolling rights in Depsang Plains and Demchok are to be restored and coordinated, going back to the status quo of 2020
Amid such major developments, I covered many world leaders participating in the summit, the Gala dinner being the cherry on top.
So many memories made, so many moments I’ll cherish and so many new experiences and learning. As the summit came to an end, it was time to look back.
As it was time to leave, I felt nostalgic about a city whose name I hadn’t heard before. Kazan is beautiful, truly beautiful. And I was lucky to capture it.
