BRICS ministers meet in South Africa in push to see group emerge as West's counterweight

Foreign ministers of five nations of the BRICS grouping met in Cape Town in South Africa for a two-day meeting starting Thursday (1) as they seek to establish themselves as a counterweight to the West's geopolitical dominance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to a Reuters report, the meeting is a prelude to a summit which will be held in Johannesburg in South Africa in August that has already triggered a controversy over a possible attendance of Russian president Vladimir Putin, against whom the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March for the alleged war crime of deporting and transferring children unlawfully from the Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

South Africa confirmed that while foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India and the home state were attending the Cape Town talks, China was represented by a deputy minister, Reuters added.

The repot said that while no agenda had been made public, experts said discussions in Cape Town could eye deepening of ties among the current members and consider adding new members. A discussion on “BRICS currency”, seen as a counter to the American dollar, and meant to circumvent western sanctions against Russia could also dominate the talks.

"BRICS is positioning itself as an alternative to the West and as a way to make space for emerging powers," Cobus van Staden of the South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

BRICS has taken a concrete shape in recent years, driven initially by China, since the beginning of the Ukraine war last year, with added inputs from Russia.

India's external affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar left for the southern African nation on Wednesday (31) and his tour will also include a visit to Namibia.

Speaking about Jaishankar's South Africa visit for the BRICS meeting, a statement from India's ministry of external affairs said the former will also hold a bilateral meeting with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor and call on the president of the host nation, The Hindu reported. He is also expected to have bilateral talks with other BRICS foreign ministers and participating 'Friends of BRICS' ministers from other nations. The Indian diplomat would also interact with the Indian diaspora in Cape Town.