**Completion of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting: “Chair’s Summary Instead of Agreement Document”**
The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group, led by China and Russia, expressed concerns over the rise of protectionism after the inauguration of the Trump administration in the U.S. They aimed to seek joint efforts to bolster multilateralism.
On the 29th (local time), Mauro Vieira, Brazil’s Foreign Minister and the chair of this year’s BRICS, concluded the two-day BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro. He stated, “Member countries have an absolute consensus on trade conflicts and tariff issues,” according to Brazilian media G1 and AFP.
Minister Vieira remarked, “We discussed the revival of unfair unilateral protectionism that goes against the spirit of the World Trade Organization (WTO), especially the reckless expansion of tariff and non-tariff measures.” Although he didn’t explicitly mention President Trump, he emphasized “a strong denunciation of protectionism.”
However, the BRICS foreign ministers did not adopt a joint agreement document, and Brazil issued a chair’s summary instead.
Minister Vieira explained, “There were inter-country disagreements on regional issues,” and noted that “it was a productive meeting in preparation for the agreement to be adopted at the summit in July,” as reported by G1.
Local media indicated that the position of Russia, a party to the Ukraine war, and Indonesia’s animosity towards Israel due to its support for ‘Islamic brother’ Palestine, seemed to impact the coordination of a joint voice within BRICS.
Separately, Minister Vieira met with Wang Yi, director of China’s Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Office (concurrently serving as Foreign Minister), to discuss details regarding Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s upcoming visit to China next month, as stated in briefing materials from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.
Formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the BRICS bloc has expanded its membership to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The global community regards BRICS as a major consultative body of non-Western countries.