Russian president meets with Chinese and South African counterparts on the sidelines on the BRICS summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding several high-level meetings ahead of the official opening of the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. He is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Around 20,000 delegates from over 30 countries are expected to attend the three-day international forum in Russia’s fifth-largest city.

Xi Jinping meets with Putin

On the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Chinese-Russian relations have come a long way and reached an unprecedented level. Speaking during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jinping said relations between the two great powers greatly contribute to “defending international justice.”
He added that BRICS was one of the most important platforms for the consolidation of the developing world, playing a “systemic” role in creating an “equal” multipolar system and “universally accessible inclusive globalization.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin said cooperation between Russia and China was one of the “stabilizing factors on the world arena” and that over the past 75 years relations between the two nations have reached the level of a “comprehensive” and “strategic” partnership.
“This is a standard for how relations between two states should be built,” Putin said, calling ties between Russia and China “equal” and “mutually beneficial.”

Ramaphosa meets with Putin

In a meeting between South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Ramaphosa said, “We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend who supported us from the beginning, from the days of apartheid, right until now.” He noted that it was with Russia’s support that South Africa had been able to reach a point in its history where it was no longer divided.
He promised to brief Putin and other BRICS members on the changes his country had recently made in its policies as it seeks to stabilize the political situation.
He also praised Russia for the way it is handling its rotating BRICS presidency, and expressed confidence that the country will continue to help the group “grow from strength to strength.”
Putin agreed, saying that there were “many promising areas for cooperation” between Russia and South Africa, as well as other African nations, including energy, industry, agriculture, science, and innovation. “Russia attaches great significance to strengthening cooperation with African countries,” said Putin. He noted that, “Russia and South Africa coordinate efforts on international platforms to establish a fair and multipolar world order,” and said that the relationship between the countries was based on “comprehensive strategic partnership, equality and mutual respect.”

Expectations of summit

The BRICS Summit shows that Vladimir Putin is far from alone given the number of heads of state and other high-ranking guests in attendance. The gathering spotlights
a growing convergence of nations who hope to see a shift in the global balance of power.
For three days intense diplomatic discussions and high-level bilateral talks will offer a new vision of multilateralism.
The current BRICS member countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates – collectively represent around 46% of the world’s population and over 36% of global GDP, according to estimates from global financial institutions.
Nearly three dozen states have expressed interest in joining BRICS or deepening cooperation with the group, and many of them have sent top level delegations to Kazan. Existing members agreed to discuss granting partner status to some of these nations and may approve some bids during the summit.