RUSSIA: Senator Mushahid Hussain became the first Pakistani to address the International BRICS Forum, held in Vladivostok and organised by Russia’s United Russia Party.
Invoking a desire to become a part of the developing global order, Mushahid, the co-chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and the director of two think tanks in Pakistan, urged for Pakistan’s membership in BRICS.
The goal of the BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as well as other five significant rising economies, is to promote political discourse, economic collaboration, and development among its members.
When it was first formed in 2006, Brazil, Russia, India, and China made up the BRIC alliance. After South Africa joined in 2010, the organisation was dubbed BRICS.
The union added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its membership in January 2024.
The bloc together represents nearly half of the world’s population and a significant portion of global GDP.
In his keynote speech, Mushahid criticised the declining influence of the Western world order, emphasising the role of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in shaping a new international framework based on the UN Charter and peaceful coexistence.
He identified three key trends: democratizing international relations through equality and the rule of law, demilitarizing global interactions to avoid Cold War tensions, and depolarizing the financial system to reduce the political power of the US dollar.
President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative and President Putin’s plan for Eurasian security were both praised by Mushahid. In addition, he denounced Western assistance to Israel, calling it a “crime against humanity” and a factor in the Gaza conflict.
Attendees from 29 different countries demonstrated the breadth of BRICS’ global influence, which includes almost half of the world’s population as well as sizeable shares of the global GDP and energy resources.