Brasil de Fato<\/p>\n
The 16th BRICS Summit officially began on Tuesday (22), bringing together the largest number of leaders of any previous edition. This marks the first summit in the group’s expanded format, including new members from Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first day features intense bilateral meetings, with Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting New BRICS Development Bank (NDB) President Dilma Rousseff<\/a> and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the meeting, Rousseff stressed that the expansion of the group and the development of projects between the countries of the Global South are priority themes for the New BRICS Development Bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that we can have a greater expansion of the BRIC countries to the countries of the Global South and that we can define the new paths that we should take in the coming years,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vladimir Putin, for his part, said that increasing payments in the national currencies of the BRICS countries will boost the independence of the\u00a0 members and help reduce geopolitical risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Increased payments in local currencies make it possible to reduce debt service payments, increase the independence of the BRICS member countries and minimize geopolitical risks and, as far as possible in today’s world, free economic development from politics,” Putin noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Russian president also\u00a0stated\u00a0that the BRICS bank has financed<\/a> over 100 projects worth US$ 33 billion since 2018. \u00a0<\/p>\n Putin will also hold bilateral talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Negotiations to find alternatives to the US dollar’s hegemony<\/a> in the global financial system and the strengthening of alternative BRICS financial institutions are among the main items on the agenda, as are discussions on the accession of new partner members to the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n Focus\u00a0will\u00a0be\u00a0on\u00a0BRICS\u00a0expansion\u00a0criteria\u00a0<\/p>\n