Brazil Archives - Defence Monitor

24 Aug

Six nations to join BRICS grouping from Jan 1, 2024

New Delhi, Aug 24, The BRICS grouping on Thursday announced that six nations -- Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Argentina, the UAE and Saudi Arabia -- will be included as full time members. South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa announced this at the BRICS summit. The membership will be effective from January 1, 2024. "We have consensus on the first phase of this BRICS expansion process," Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg. These six nations will join Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Speaking immediately after Ramaphosa's announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS Summit, welcomed all…

22 Aug

BRICS summit: Navigating uncertainties through Indian and global south partnership

New Delhi, Aug 22, The BRICS group will conduct its 15th summit from August 22 to 24 at the Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) in Johannesburg, South Africa, during which it is likely to discuss a proposal for a new currency backed by gold, aimed at decreasing dependence on the US dollar, though its motivations are debated. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for South Africa to participate in the summit. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil's President Luiz InacioLula da Silva are expected to be present in the summit, which will be the…

08 Aug

South Africa ready to host BRICS summit: Minister

Johannesburg, Aug 8, South Africa is ready to host the much-anticipated 15th BRICS summit, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has said. "President Ramaphosa has confirmed South Africa's readiness to host the 15th BRICS summit in person, in Sandton, Johannesburg. The president has therefore invited 67 leaders from Africa and the Global South to attend the BRICS-Africa outreach and BRICS Plus dialogues," Pandor said on Monday while briefing the media about the country's preparations for the summit, which will be held on August 22-24, Xinhua news agency reported. The leaders invited to attend the summit cover all the…

24 Jun

South Africa to host BRICS political parties dialogue in July

Johannesburg, June 24 (IANS) South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), has said that political parties from the BRICS countries will meet next month to discuss how to strengthen the BRICS mechanism, economic recovery and conflict resolutions. The dialogue will be held in Johannesburg on July 18-20 to deliberate on issues of mutual interest, and it will be attended by party leaders and representatives of political parties across the world, the ANC said on Friday in a statement. "The 2023 BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue will deliberate on reforming and strengthening mechanisms for inclusive multilateralism, and resolving conflicts through…

13 Jun

Brazil expresses concern over added EU demands to trade deal

Brasilia, June 13 (IANS) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he has expressed concern over additional demands made by the European Union (EU) regarding its trade agreement with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). "I expressed to (European Commission) President (Ursula) Von der Leyen Brazil's concern about the additional instrument to the agreement presented by the European Union in March of this year, which expands Brazil's obligations and establishes sanctions in case of non-compliance," Lula said in a statement after meeting the top EU official in Brasilia. This is the first visit to Brazil by a head of the European…

08 May

Buoyant ruble-yuan trade between China, Russia drives dedollarisation

New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Against the backdrop of Russia cutting its usage of the US dollar, the Chinese yuan and Russian ruble are now the most used currencies in bilateral trade, which was unimaginable even two years ago. The US dollar has stepped down from the altar, and now people can see it more clearly, Global Times, a Chinese mouthpiece, said in a recent article. "If we look at the structure of trade between China and Russia, more than 70 per cent of bilateral trade is settled in yuan or ruble", Anton Siluanov, Russian Minister of Finance, was quoted as…

13 Jan

Global maritime piracy incidents hit lowest level in decades

London, Jan 13 (IANS) A total of 115 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in 2022 globally, down from 132 incidents in 2021 and also the lowest recorded level since 1994, a global body has said. The latest report of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reaching Xinhua news agency on Thursday revealed that pirates boarded 107 vessels in 2022, while there were five attempted attacks, one vessel fired upon, and two vessels hijacked. The "continued and much needed" reduction is attributed to an overall decrease in piratical activity in the highly risky waters of the Gulf…