Explained | Key facts about the upcoming BRICS 2023 Summit at Johannesburg

Amid much chatter, theBRICS Summit, comprising top leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is scheduled to begin next week and the entire globe has its eyes on the developments that take place on the platform. Responsible for nearly 40 per cent and 26 per cent of the global population and economy respectively, the forum members will gather from August 22-24 in the city of Johannesburg.

Here are some key facts about the summit:

As mentioned earlier, the 15th edition of the summit is scheduled to be held in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa fromAugust 22 to 24.The summit will be hosted at the Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

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After the COVID-19 pandemic broke out,this will be the first in-person BRICS summit, which makes the gathering all the more crucial.

South Africa took over the rotating presidency of the grouping from China on 1 January 2023. Consequently, the African nation announced the theme of the summit as"BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism".

Notably, South Africaparticipated for the first time in BRICS during the third summit held in Sanya, China in April 2011. Prior to South Africa's participation, the forum was named BRIC, coined by Jim O’Neil of Goldman Sachs in 2001.

As the president, South Africa has listeda wide array of priorities for the summit, which include:

1) Developing a partnership towards an equitable just transition.

2)Transforming education and skills development for the future.

3) Unlocking opportunities through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

4)Strengthening post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and the attainment of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

5)Strengthening multilateralism, including working towards real reform of global governance institutions and strengthening the meaningful participation of women in peace processes

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,President Xi Jinping of China,Brazil's President Luiz Lula da Silva andSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa are expected to attend the summit.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit in person, according to Ramaphosa. According to reports, the arrest warrant issued bytheInternational Criminal Court against Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine is the reason for Putin's absence. Since South Africa is an ICC signatory, it is compelled to arrest Putin if he lands on South African soil.

Watch |Russian President Putin to skip BRICS Summit in South Africa

In a statement, South Africa's presidency described the agreement for Putin not to attend as "mutual" and said it had come about following a "number of consultations" on the summit. Notably, Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov will take Putin's place.

As the host nation, South Africa has also extended the invitation to67 leaders from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean, informedSouth African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.

One of the burning issues in the lead-up to the summit has been the expansion of the grouping. China, looking to utilise the forum as a way to boost its geopolitical might against the US has been the primary force, batting for the expansion.

Russia, which has been isolated due to the war with Ukraine is fully on-board with the expansion, as is South Africa. India remains undecided and non-committal while Brazil remains highly sceptical of any new inclusion.

While adding members remains the priority, the members are first expected to flesh out the admission criteria for the new joiners. Since the grouping was formulated to bring together emerging economies that seemed set to dominate the world economy by 2050, it remains to be seen if the requirements are tweaked to allow new countries, experts said.

Notably, over 40 countries, includingArgentina, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, have expressed interest in joining BRICS.

Apart from new admissions, BRICS leaders will engage with business during the BRICS Business Forum and engage with the New Development Bank, BRICS Business Council and other mechanisms during the summit. South Africa will also continue its outreach to leaders from Africa and the global South and hold a BRICS outreach and BRICS plus dialogue during the summit.

Ahead of the summit, South Africa's radical leftist opposition party urged the leaders of the forum fromChina, India and Brazil to boycott the summit in solidarity with Russia's Vladimir Putin who will not be attending.

"We call on the president of the People's Republic of China, India and Brazil not to come to (the) BRICS summit in solidarity with President Putin," saidJulius Malema, leader ofSouth Africa's third-largest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

There were reports by Western media outlets that Indian PM Modi will also not be attending the summit, leading to speculations that the Johannesburg event was a dud even before it started.

However, New Delhi slammed those reports and said PM Modi was attending the summit after he held a telephonic conversation with Ramaphosa.

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