World

BRICS PLUS verses G-8 in New Global Configuration

Published

3 years ago

29/06/2022

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

The United States has outstretched its political and economic interests around the world. China has strategically extended its tentacles across both the Atlantic and the Pacific, conquered Africa, and intensified commercial operations in the Central Asia regions including the former Soviet republics – the backyard of the Russian Federation.

Despite its large population of 1.5 billion which many have considered as an impediment, China’s domestic economic reforms and collaborative strategic diplomacy with external countries have made it attain superpower status over the United States. China is strengthening its trade, investment and economic muscles.

Russia has been teaming up with China and India and a few other external countries to establish a new global economic system. Its aim is to break the unipolar system that successive White House administrations have maintained. Due to socialist economic planning and their advancement of the notions of international cooperation and peace even among states with varying social systems, there has been tremendous progress in the areas of international solidarity.

The Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) grouping is a manifestation of the role of Beijing, Moscow and Pretoria along with the other states to craft another order. These new alliances are perceived as a threat to the role of the United States, Britain and the European Union since they are not participant members and cannot directly impact the agendas and goals established by the BRICS.

Russia has some limitations. Its external economic footprint is comparatively weak. Its external policies hardly promote its economic models. The geopolitical reordering of the world cannot simply be achieved through war or challenging the West’s political influence in its various global domains. The economic component is possibly the most significant.

As Dr Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle wrote recently “the Middle East, especially the Gulf region, is vital for the current global economic order and is equally critical for any future reshaping of that order. If Moscow is to succeed in redefining the role of Arab economies vis-à-vis the global economy, it would most likely succeed in ensuring that a multipolar economic world takes form. Russia is clearly invested in a new global economic system, but without isolating itself in the process.”

Russia has exited many international organizations, instead of sustaining its membership and using these platforms to propagate its global mission. It has gone into self-isolation, with many heavy-handed criticisms against the United States and Europe.

Russia is currently pushing an initiative for multipolarity. In June 2022, Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on Telegram that the United States and its allies are destroying economic ties by their sanctions policy, but at the same time creating new points of growth in other countries.

“The move by Washington and its allies to cut the existing economic ties has created new points of growth in the world,” he pointed out. According to the parliament speaker, Western sanctions are leading to the establishment of another group of eight nations – China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Iran and Turkey – that is 24.4% ahead of the old group of developed countries in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and purchasing power parity.

“The United States, with its own hands, has created conditions for countries willing to build an equal dialogue and mutually beneficial relations to actually establish a new G-8 group with Russia,” Volodin noted.

Understandably, there is a Group of Seven (G-7), an inter-governmental political forum, that includes highly developed countries. These are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, the European Union is a non-enumerated member. Its members are the world’s largest IMF advanced economies and the wealthiest liberal democracies. The group is organized around shared values of pluralism and representative government. As of 2020, the collective group accounted for over 50 per cent of global net wealth. Its members are great powers in global affairs and maintain mutually close political, economic, social, legal, environmental, military, religious, cultural, and diplomatic relations.

Russia has dismembered itself from the group and remained critical about it arguing that the G-7 has no relevance to exist since its members also meet at the Group of Twenty (G-20). Based on that argument, if the establishment of another new Group of Eight nations – China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Iran and Turkey – is formed, BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, it follows, will have to be absorbed by the new Group of Eight organization, and thus pushing out South Africa.

Indonesia which will host the G-20 summit in Bali this November is doing its best to insulate the meeting from politics. Whether Indonesia will arbitrate between angry clashing superpowers is simply unpredictable. The chances of a sudden rapprochement between the United States and China – let alone between the US and Russia – are exceedingly low.

Russia and China’s strategic alliance is strengthening and China has resisted so many attempts for excluding Russia from international organizations. Both are staunch members of BRICS.

Dr Pankaj Kumar Jha, Professor at O. P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana, observes that China and India border conflict will continue influencing BRICS. However, India and China are cooperating to develop alternate financial structures, cohesive guidelines within Asia and the global south on many issues such as trade, investment and developing an understanding so that the dominance of the West could be reduced to a minimum in global financial architecture, he said and added, “the foundation of cooperation in BRICS brings potential resources and critical development requirements under one umbrella.”

Questions about the future of BRICS remain especially when new world order is being discussed. Drawing inspiration from Quad plus, BRICS countries are also discussing BRICS plus format. The formation of the new grouping G-8 is primarily a fusion of BRICS and VISTA (Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina). The formation is primarily to connect BRICS to middle-income and middle-power countries, according to his explanation.

Dr Pankaj Kumar Jha concluded his argument: “This geopolitical configuration is in exploratory phases, undoubtedly meant to bring a new axis of Russia-China but the inclusion of Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey. How much successful this grouping would be is still a matter of conjecture. From a geopolitical point of view, much would depend on how sanctions on Russia and the post-coronavirus recovery of China shape up.”

Professor Aslan Abashidze, Head of the Department of International Law of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship and Member of the Scientific Advisory Board under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs observes that in general, international associations emerge on the basis of prerequisites that may be of a different nature: political, defensive, cultural, et cetera. The emergence of such “para-organizations” as the Group of Seven (G-7), Group of Eight (G-8), and Group of Twenty (G-20) is associated with the inability of international institutions at the global level to meet the increased needs of modern development in the face of growing challenges in the form of pandemics, financial crisis et cetera.

The process of searching for new models by the states dissatisfied with the United States policy has started, which means the end of the dominance of the United States in all spheres of international relations. At some point, the West, headed by the United States, will have to negotiate new models of international economic and other relations, based on new international treaties that ensure equality of all states.

According to Professor Abashidze, “Russia, China and India will establish trade relations on national currencies and therefore it will be attractive and beneficial to other states, not only from the Asia-Pacific region but also from Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.”

The emerging new coalition group is coming up at a crucial time when over the last two decades, the United States, Britain, the European Union (EU) countries and their allies globally, have been embroiled in numerous imperialist interventions resulting in destabilization, military interventions, proxy wars and the expansion of western imperialism throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America.

World

Trump’s Tariffs Will Affect Global Trade—Okonjo-Iweala

Published

49 minutes ago

04/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the recent tariffs announced by the United States would have substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said this in a statement in reaction to recent tariffs imposed on goods from other countries by US President Donald Trump.

The WTO DG added that the organisation was closely monitoring and analysing the measures announced by the United States on April 2, 2025.

She noted that many members have reached out to the WTO and the organization is actively engaging with them in response to their questions about the potential impact on their economies and the global trading system.

“While the situation is rapidly evolving, our initial estimates suggest that these measures, coupled with those introduced since the beginning of the year, could lead to an overall contraction of around 1 per cent in global merchandise trade volumes this year, representing a downward revision of nearly four percentage points from previous projections.

“I’m deeply concerned about this decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that lead to further declines in trade,” the WTO DG stated.

She, however, noted that despite the emerging tariffs war, the vast majority of global trade is still being conducted under the WTO’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) terms.

“Our estimates now indicate that this share currently stands at 74 per cent, down from around 80% at the beginning of the year. WTO members must stand together to safeguard these gains,” the former Nigeria’s Finance Minister said.

Nevertheless, Mrs Okonja- Iweala urged caution while advising members to utilise the platform of WTO to prevent the tariff war from escalating.

“Trade measures of this magnitude have the potential to create significant trade diversion effects. I call on Members to manage the resulting pressures responsibly to prevent trade tensions from proliferating.

“The WTO was established to serve precisely in moments like this — as a platform for dialogue, to prevent trade conflicts from escalating, and to support an open and predictable trading environment. I encourage Members to utilize this forum to engage constructively and seek cooperative solutions,” she remarked.

World

Saudi, Russia, 6 Others Agree to Raise Crude Oil Output Next Month

Published

19 hours ago

03/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Eight key producers in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday agreed to raise combined crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually to review global market conditions and decided to raise collective output by 411,000 barrels per day, starting in May.

The group was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.

The May hike agreed on Thursday is “equivalent to three monthly increments,” OPEC said in a statement, adding that “the gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.”

The eight OPEC+ producers this month started gradually unwinding 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts undertaken independently from the production strategy of the broader 22-member OPEC+ alliance, which has roughly 3.66 million barrels per day of separate cuts in place until the end of 2026.

CNBC reported that the Thursday meeting was the first one attended by Mr Erlan Akkenzhenov, the new energy minister of Kazakhstan, which has struggled with producing above its assigned quota.

Without referencing individual countries like Nigeria, OPEC said in its Thursday statement that the May output hike will “provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation” by way of additional production cuts in line with overproduction.

The Thursday decision was taken against the backdrop of broader market trouble triggered by sweeping tariffs on key trade partners unveiled on Wednesday by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump, who has been simultaneously championing higher US oil output, signed a reciprocal tariff policy on Wednesday.

The American President said his plan will set a 10 per cent baseline tariff across the board.

The plan imposes steep tariff rates on many countries, including 34 per cent on China, 20 per cent on the European Union, and Nigeria got 14 per cent.

World

Russia’s Expanding Geopolitical Influence in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger

Published

1 day ago

03/04/2025

Business Post Contributor

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Growing impatience over the fragile security situation in the Sahel region and collective anxiety to lift up and strengthen their Confederation of Sahel States (AES), some prefers the Alliance des États du Sahel (translates in English as the Alliance of Sahel States), the three Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger embarked on a fresh trip to Moscow.

Meetings, held in early April 2025, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov undoubtedly gave a strong boost to the AES relations, marking the latest new chapter in building sustainable security ties and economic cooperation.

Ahead of the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the Sahel foreign ministers prioritized perspectives on regulating their political crisis as well as focusing on economic spheres. According to Russia’s MFA, the three African countries’ foreign ministries indicated in a joint statement that the joint visit as the first session of “AES-Russia consultations” which aims at finding appropriate pathways in fighting jihadist insurgencies that has spread across the region south of the Sahara.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger currently run by military governments that have taken power in coups between 2021 an 2022, have formed an alliance known as the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). By creating their own bloc, it exposes Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) weaknesses and its long-term inability and incompetency to deal with regional problems, particularly rising security through mediation.

The French grouping later kicked out French and other Western forces and conveniently turned towards Russia for military support. Their foreign ministers will visit Moscow on April 3 and 4 and hold meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at his invitation, the statement said.

“The Moscow meeting represents an important step in establishing strategic, pragmatic, dynamic and supportive cooperation and partnership relations in areas of common interest between the AES and Russia,” the ministries said.

Basic research and review show that besides instability, these countries are engulfed with various socio-economic problems primarily due to the system of governance and poor policies toward sustainable development. And Russia’s renewed and full-fledged interest is primarily focused on uprooting French domination, and support the development goals of these French-speaking West African countries in the Sahel region.

For fear and concerns about the new rise of terrorism and for the sake of deeper cooperation and integration, the three Sahelian countries have turned to Russia, and as expected Russia has since offered tremendous assistance. As a follow up, the early April meetings in Moscow, several critical issues are on the agenda: military assistance to fight growing terrorism, and efforts to strengthen political dialogue and promote concrete partnerships relating to trade and the economy in the region.

The AES has multitude of obstacles, the main problems emerged after exiting out of ECOWAS, the regional organization consisting 16 West African states. Finance is another hurdle among others. Nevertheless, Russian Foreign Ministry explained in a statement posted on its website, that Russia’s military-technical cooperation with African countries is primarily directed at settling regional conflicts and preventing the spread of terrorist threats and fighting the growing terrorism in the continent.

Russia’s MFA has earlier assured: “we will continue supporting it with the supply of arms and hardware and personnel training, including peacekeepers, as it is very important to help put an end to this evil and other challenges and threats, including drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime.”

With regards to financing AES, the bloc on March 31st introduced 0.5% levy on imported goods to finance their newly formed three-state union, following their withdrawal from ECOWAS. The agreed levy took immediate effect and applies to all imported goods except humanitarian aid.

It also implied that the move officially ended free trade with West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc, deepening the rift between the three and regional democracies like Nigeria and Ghana. Worth noting that ECOWAS sanctions imposed to force a return to civilian rule have had little impact, as the Sahel alliance continues to strengthen economic and security cooperation.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are among many African countries bartering natural resources. There have been cases, where huge natural-resource projects were given away without cabinet discussions and parliament’s approval.

Apparently, these agreements on resources extraction hardly deliver broad-based development dividends. Nevertheless, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have bilateral agreements with Russia. The three have offered complete access to exploiting their natural resources in exchange for military equipment and weaponry as well as military training. Burkina Faso signed a Memorandum of Understanding on nuclear energy with the State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) during the Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg in July 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned security issue and economic cooperation during his opening and closing speeches at the summit and even previously, indicating its importance on Russia’s agenda with Africa. In fact, there were five key summit documents and one of them focuses on ‘Strengthening Cooperation to Combat Terrorism’ which neatly relates to this article theme here under discussion.

Although Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have abundant human and natural resources, offering tremendous potential for rapid growth, there are existing deep-rooted challenges – environmental, political and security – that may affect the prosperity and peace of the region. Therefore, external support is badly required and which is why Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have to look up to Russia as their economic and security saviour, particularly this changing geopolitical situation in the world.

According to various narratives, Russia has embarked on fighting “neo-colonialism” which it considers as a stumbling stone on its way to regain a part of its Soviet-era influence in Africa. Russia has sought to convince Africans over the past years of the likely dangers of neocolonial tendencies perpetrated by the former colonial countries and the scramble for resources on the continent.

In pursuit of its geopolitical interest, Russia has ultimately begun making inroads into the Sahel region, an elongated landlocked territory located between North Africa (Maghreb) and West Africa, and also stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.

With human and natural resources, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger China are undertaking giant economic and social transformation. Quite essentially, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, within the geopolitical reconfiguration in West Africa, are desirous to ensure their political sovereignty, engage in development which Russia has expressed interest to support.

Certainly, the three have pledged to work together to find common solutions, and are oriented towards multipolarity. In this way, they could consolidate its integration to become a center of influence, diversify the economy to become prosperous in the region. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are expected to continue to advance their collective interests for the purposes of their development, prosperity and stability.