João Lourenço advocates strengthening multilateralism

The head of state of Angola and acting president of the African Union, João Lourenço, defended on Sunday a reform of institutions and strengthening of multilateralism , during his speech at the BRICS leaders' summit.

“The nations of the world have been dealing for decades with global governance institutions created after the Second World War, but with the profound changes that have been taking place in the world in the past eight decades, they need to adapt to new realities ,” said João Lourenço before representatives of around 30 countries and a dozen international organizations, who are in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to participate in the XVII Summit of Heads of State and Government of the BRICS.

In his opinion, the BRICS bloc can “play a relevant and active role in building greater balance in the discussion on issues related to global governance, between the Global South and developed countries”.

The Angolan head of state also highlighted the “urgency and importance of working towards strengthening multilateralism , which is increasingly under threat in these times”.

Once again, he stressed, the bloc of emerging countries has a “decisive and fundamental role in rebalancing the approach to the global economic order, in which issues relating to trade based on fairer foundations, investment and financing in less onerous ways for those most in need” stand out.

Hours before this statement, the Brazilian head of state, Lula da Silva, made harsh criticisms at the opening of the BRICS summit regarding the “unparalleled collapse of multilateralism”, reinforcing the importance of reforming the UN Security Council .

Lula da Silva also made harsh criticisms of the United Nations Security Council, which “lately has not even been consulted before the start of military actions” and whose meetings only lead to further “loss of credibility and paralysis”.

“To overcome the crisis of confidence we are facing, the Security Council must be profoundly transformed” by including new permanent members from Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, he said, stressing that this reform is essential to “guarantee the very survival of the UN”.

João Lourenço also praised the BRICS’ willingness to “talk about financing for the development of Africa and infrastructure”.

“I cannot fail to say that the nations of the Global South have been clamoring for decades for their inclusion in the discussion and decisions that are made regarding the creation of fair, balanced development factors capable of meeting their fundamental concerns, without having been able to be fully heard,” said João Lourenço, before representatives of around 30 countries and a dozen international organizations, who are in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to participate in the XVII Summit of Heads of State and Government of the BRICS.

Now, the Angolan President argued, Africa feels it is “facing a real possibility, at the level of the BRICS and their institutions” of being able to “talk about financing for the development of Africa and the infrastructure it needs, to respond more fully to the challenges it faces”.

The BRICS, he stressed, can help “overcome the obstacles that hinder the implementation of essential projects in the areas of agriculture, health, education, science and technology, energy, transport and telecommunications”.

The BRICS group was initially formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and, since last year, has six new full members: Egypt, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

These are joined as associate members by Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Lula da Silva received BRICS leaders in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for the group's annual summit, marked by the absence of presidents such as Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, at a summit that was attended by around 30 countries and a dozen international organizations.

Putin will participate via videoconference, after declining Lula da Silva's invitation as he is under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes committed during the war in Ukraine, and will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

More surprising is the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who has been a regular participant at previous summits, and will be replaced by Premier Li Qiang.

The summit will focus on four main themes: the reform of the organizations that govern the international order, the promotion of multilateralism , the fight against hunger and poverty and the promotion of sustainable development, in a bloc that represents more than 40% of the global population and more than 35% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).