India to extend sugar export ban

According to a Reuter report, India plans to extend a ban on sugar exports for the second straight year as the world's biggest consumer of the sweetener grapples with the prospects of lower cane output.

New Delhi also plans to raise the price at which oil companies buy ethanol from sugar mills as part of efforts to boost supplies of the biofuel. They did not wish to be identified as deliberations were not public.

India's absence from the world market would further squeeze global supplies, propping up benchmark prices in New York and London.

New Delhi plans to prohibit mills from exporting sugar when supplies from Brazil, the world's top producer and supplier of the sweetener, are expected to drop because of a drought in the South American nation.

"In the current crop scenario, there is no space for sugar exports," said one of the government sources.

"After fulfilling the local sugar demand, our next priority is ethanol blending, and we need much more cane to meet the ethanol blending targets."

Seeking to curb carbon emissions, India aims to increase the share of ethanol in gasoline to 20% by 2025-26, from around 14% now.

Some of the Indian sugar mills have increased their ethanol production capacity in the last few years.

The government is also considering an increase in ethanol procurement price by more than 5% for the new marketing season beginning November, sources said.

Late last month, a government order said India would allow sugar mills to use cane juice or syrup to produce ethanol starting in November.

India, also the world's biggest sugar producer after Brazil, banned mills from exporting the sweetener during the current season that began on October 01, 2023. That was the first sugar export curb time in seven years.

New Delhi allowed mills to export only 6.1 million metric tons of sugar during the last season, nearly half of the country's total shipment in 2021-22.

Sugar output during the next 2024-25 season is likely to fall to 32 million metric tons from this year's 34 million tons due to the adverse impact of last year's patchy rains in Maharashtra and Karnataka states, the sources said.

"The world will need shipments from India in 2025, as Brazil's production is expected to be lower. Without Indian exports, global prices will rise further," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.

 

Malaysia and Thailand keen in joining BRICS

According to NIKKEI Asia, two Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia and Thailand, have recently revealed their plans to join the BRICS grouping of emerging nations as middle power countries seek to maneuver amid growing geopolitical uncertainties, including the US-China tensions.

What kind of organization is BRICS?

BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was launched in 2009 as BRIC and later renamed BRICS in 2010 when South Africa joined the group. It was formed to foster economic, political and cultural cooperation among its members.

Compared to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the group operates without a formal charter or secretariat -- akin to an informal group that meets annually to allow for flexibility and prompt responses to global challenges.

Alicia Garcia-Herrero, a senior research fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, argued in her article on the East Asia Forum that at the start of the group's formation, China dominated the bloc, and most of the growth in trade has been China-centric. However, the recent increase, mostly driven by India, has "experienced an acceleration in economic growth" of the group.

The five countries combined accounted for gross domestic product of US$25.8 trillion last year, or about a quarter of the global total, whereas Group of Seven (G7) developed nations had a combined US$46.8 trillion.

Why do Malaysia and Thailand want to join?

Participation in BRICS would foster economic cooperation with peer emerging economies, such as trade and investment.

In addition, Malaysia views this as an opportunity to engage in rising multilateralism, according to Hoo Chiew Ping, a senior fellow at the East Asian International Relations Caucus. She said joining BRICS would support a multipolar world order rather than being drawn into a new Cold War centered on the US-China rivalry.

Thailand has said a BRICS membership would enhance Thailand's role as a leader among emerging countries.

A foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters last week that the country wants to play more roles, promoting Thai potentials to co-play the roles with developed nations and underdeveloped nations to provide guidelines for global community development to promote justice and equality, adding that being a BRICS member does not mean Thailand is taking sides.

Will other countries in Southeast Asia follow?

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said earlier this year that Jakarta was still assessing the benefits of joining BRICS. This follows President Jokowi Widodo's attendance at the BRICS summit in South Africa in August last year, during which he called for stronger cooperation among developing nations to fight trade discrimination.

Jokowi told reporters afterward that despite Indonesia's good economic relationships with the group's members, we don't want to rush joining the bloc.

Observers describe Indonesia's reluctance to join BRICS as a desire to avoid being seen as too close to China, already its biggest source of foreign direct investment and trading partner in recent years. China has also been the biggest trading partner to most ASEAN countries in the past decade.

This is amid Indonesia's ambition to join the OECD instead. The rich-country club opened accession discussions with Indonesia in February that, if realized, will make it the first OECD member from Southeast Asia.

Rahul Mishra, an associate professor at the Center for Indo-Pacific Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that Malaysia's and Thailand's moves will motivate Indonesia to revive its BRICS plans. Vietnam could be the next member, and a bigger BRICS would mean a collective of more voices from the Global South, he added.

Vietnam sent a delegation to attend the BRICS Dialogue with Developing Countries in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod this month. The country is watching the BRICS expansion but has not made any comments on joining the bloc. Thailand and Laos took part in the forum as well.

What would Thailand's and Malaysia's BRICS memberships mean for Southeast Asia?

The shift could put a strain on the unity and centrality of Southeast Asia's own multilateral framework, ASEAN, and the Southeast Asian bloc needs to adapt to remain relevant as its members explore other alignments, experts say.

"It is high time for ASEAN to prepare the necessary, to complement the appetite of its member states in bolstering action and crafting solutions, in which ASEAN seems to be counterproductive," said Fikry A Rahman, the head of foreign affairs at Malaysia's research institute Bait Al-Amanah.

Fikry said that ASEAN will continue to take center stage for Southeast Asia, and its members will not undermine the values, although he also pointed out that the nature of the Southeast Asian bloc limits its role in serving regional goals.

What does a bigger BRICS mean for the world?

The expansion of BRICS would amplify the voice of the Global South and point to a further disparity of a more polarized world.

In January 2024, BRICS expanded its membership to include more prominent Global South countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with more countries potentially joining the group.

"The expanded BRICS membership is a direct response to heightened bipolar rivalry, which has significantly increased global geopolitical uncertainties," Hoo said, highlighting how middle powers maneuver amid the tension between superpowers.

However, Hoo cautioned that the inclusion of more countries, especially with Russia's involvement in the grouping, could send a problematic signal to the US and its allies, as membership can be viewed as adversarial to Western interests and values.

Brazil to become largest cotton exporter

Brazil is set to become the world’s largest cotton exporter in 2023-24, knocking the United States from the top spot it has held for decades, following a more than 80% surge in shipments this season, reports Reuters.

China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Turkey and Pakistan are some of the largest buyers of Brazilian cotton

The South American country’s position as the world’s number one exporter is driven by the record output, strong demand from Asian countries and a drop in US production due to adverse weather.

“It happened a little earlier than we imagined,” Anea head Miguel Faus told Reuters. “The main reason is that there was a failure in the US crop, while the Brazilian production increased.”

Faus said Brazil’s exports could increase further next season, as farmers begin to harvest a crop expected to hit a new record, and again in 2025-26. “I think that in the medium term, Brazil will consolidate itself in this leadership position”, he said.

He cited data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which this month increased its forecast for Brazil’s cotton exports this year by 300,000 bales to 12.4 million bales, while reducing the US forecast by 500,000 bales to 11.8 million bales.

According to a USDA report, the US had led global cotton exports since the early 1990s.

Brazil already surpassed the US in terms of production in 2023-24, ranking third in the world behind China and India — positions that are expected to be maintained in 2024-25.

Brazil has been more generally increasing its commodity exports, including corn and coffee.

It has long been the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter and Faus said it would still have more influence in that market than in cotton.

“In the case of cotton, the forces are more balanced… But of course, if Brazil’s production rises or falls, the market will be paying attention,” he said.

 

Tankers Haul Russian Diesel to Brazil

According to Bloomberg tankers laden with millions of barrels of Russian diesel are floating off the coast of Brazil — with more on the way.

Ships holding at least 3.2 million barrels of diesel-type fuel from Russian ports are idling in waters off the world’s fifth largest country.

It’s not clear why the cargoes are getting held up. However, the glut is the latest sign of snarls in the delivery of petroleum from Russia at a time when US and UK sanctions are tightening.

Diesel cargoes are also being held in tankers in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Guinea, while crude is backing up outside Indian ports.

While the glut is notable — 3.2 million barrels would meet about two weeks of the Latin American country’s imports — there doesn’t appear to be a complete halt in the discharge of cargoes from Russia in Brazil. Of the vessels off the nation’s coast, at least two are Sovcomflot PJSC tankers.

There are also at least 3.3 million barrels of diesel currently being transported toward Brazil, much of it across the Atlantic. It seems unlikely traders would continue sending the cargoes if they weren’t able to unload.

Other vessels are signaling Brazil, but their movements suggest they may not be heading to the country anytime soon. The nation has also imported diesel-type fuel from the UAE and Kuwait this month.

 

Global calls for sanctions on Israel

Imposing sanctions on the Israeli regime has been a long-held demand by many in the international community over the past decades despite persistent shielding of the regime by the United States. The issue of punitive measures is being raised once more amid the devastating and indiscriminate Israeli war on Gaza.

The international rights organization, Human Rights Watch, has joined other advocacy groups, politicians and countries in calling for “sanctions on Israel”, especially to put pressure on Tel Aviv to comply with the ICJ ruling on genocide.

A month has passed since a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found there was a plausible case to investigate the act of genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza amid the Israeli war on the tiny coastal territory. 

Despite the ICJ’s demands that called on Tel Aviv to do everything within its power to prevent the act of genocide from taking place against the Palestinians in Gaza until the highest UN court concludes its investigation the regime has failed to do so, infuriating international rights groups. 

The United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said that fewer aid trucks have entered Gaza and fewer aid missions have been allowed to reach northern Gaza in the several weeks since the ruling than in the weeks preceding it. 

Rights groups have accused the Israeli regime of continuing to obstruct the delivery of basic services in the Gaza Strip and entry and distribution of lifesaving aid and fuel within the enclave. 

They also warned that the Israeli military is practicing other acts of collective punishment that amount to war crimes. These include the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war. 

In its latest report, Human Rights Watch has warned that “the Israeli government is starving Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, putting them in even more peril than before the World Court’s (ICJ) binding order.”

“According to data published by OCHA and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the daily average number of trucks entering Gaza with food, aid, and medicine dropped by more than a third in the weeks following the ICJ ruling.”

This is in clear violation of the ICJ ruling, triggering calls by rights groups and politicians to impose sanctions and other punitive measures against the Israeli government and military officials. 

“Israel’s ground forces are able to reach all parts of Gaza, so Israeli authorities clearly have the capacity to ensure that aid reaches all of Gaza,” Human Rights Watch highlighted. 

The Israeli regime is “starving Gaza’s 2.3 million population more harshly than before,” the group added.  

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), a global human rights NGO that combines 188 organizations from 116 countries has issued a press release entitled “The European Union must sanction Israel for its crimes in Gaza”.

The FIDH called on the 27-nation bloc to prosecute Israeli officials arguing that the EU has a duty to intervene to the fullest extent against the Israeli regime. 

“The plausible risk of genocide recognized by the ICJ is a point of no return, which makes the absence of concerted sanctions and condemnations unsustainable.”

Earlier this month, Ireland and Spain jointly called for an “urgent review” of the EU’s trade agreement with Tel Aviv.

In Ireland, the upper house of the legislature unanimously passed a motion on Saturday calling on the Irish government to “impose sanctions on Israel” and to prevent “US weapons being sent to Israel passing through Irish airspace”. The motion also calls on the government to advocate for an “international arms embargo on Israel”.

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has welcomed the move, saying it will now increase “pressure on the government to act”.

IPSC added “polls show that 80% of people in Ireland understand that what’s happening in Gaza is a genocide, that 70% recognize that Israel is committing the Crime of Apartheid, and that huge majorities are demanding sanctions.”

This comes as the UN Human Rights Office has called on all countries to immediately cease any arms transfers to the Israeli regime. 

Sending weapons would violate international humanitarian law, it added. 

Furthermore, UN experts have welcomed the decision of an appeals court in the Netherlands on 12 February 2024 that ordered the government to halt the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has once again decried the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip despite the diplomatic spat between Brazil and the Israeli regime over his genocidal comments on Gaza. 

On Saturday, President Lula reiterated that what the Israeli government is doing is not war. It is genocide. Children and women are being murdered.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian leader maintained his position in a TV interview. 

Courtesy: Tehran Times

 

Lula equates genocide in Gaza to Holocaust

Israel has condemned Brazil's president after he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, comparing its actions to the Holocaust. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Israel's military campaign was between a highly prepared army and women and children.

Israel accused Lula of trivializing the Holocaust and says it is fighting to destroy Hamas and return hostages taken by the militant group on October 07.

The main Jewish organization in Brazil also criticized Lula's comments.

Speaking from an African Union summit in Ethiopia, Lula said, "What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments. In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews”.

But he has since been vocally critical of Israel's retaliatory military campaign, which the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says has killed more than 28,800 people, mainly women and children.

His latest comments come after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with an offensive in Rafah - the southern-most Gazan city where some 1.5 million people have fled - in the face of increasing international pressure.

Netanyahu said Lula's remarks amounted to "Holocaust trivialization and an attempt to harm the Jewish people and the right of Israel to defend itself".

"The comparison between Israel to the Holocaust of the Nazis and Hitler is crossing a red line," he said in a statement.

Six million Jewish people were systematically murdered by Hitler's Nazi regime during the 1930s and 1940s.

Israel has summoned the Brazilian ambassador for a meeting on Monday.

The Brazilian Israelite Confederation said Lula's remarks were a perverse distortion of reality which offends the memory of Holocaust victims and their descendants".

Lula endorsed South Africa's case of genocide brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year.

Judges at the ICJ ruled in January that South Africa's case against Israel could proceed.

The court instructed Israel to prevent its military from committing acts which might be considered genocidal, to prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and to enable humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

Brazil and South Africa are members of the BRICS group of countries - an alliance of some of the world's most important developing economies brought together to challenge wealthier Western nations.

On the ground in Gaza, the World Health Organization has said the territory's Nasser hospital has ceased to function following an Israeli raid. The IDF said its operation was precise and limited and accused Hamas of cynically using hospitals for terror.

Meanwhile, efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have been taking place in Cairo, though Qatar mediators said recent progress was not very promising.

 

Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia join BRICS

South Africa’s representative in the BRICS group of emerging economies, Anil Sooklal, has stated that Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia join the bloc on January 01, 2024.

At the recent BRICS meeting, which took place in Durban, South Africa, early in December, Sooklal underlined —referring to the attendance of high-ranking representatives of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia— that the number of BRICS members will double with the addition of these nations.

He went on to add that the next conference of the economic group is scheduled for January 30, 2024 in Moscow, and it is expected that representatives of the new BRICS members will be there.

In a recent interview with Sputnik, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, emphasized Iran's commitment, alongside other BRICS members, to actively pursue de-dollarization across various economic sectors.

Bagheri Kani highlighted the focus on trade, economic collaborations, and financial exchanges within this influential coalition of major economies. 

He emphasized ongoing initiatives and expressed optimism about reinforcing these efforts to swiftly achieve their objectives.

Bagheri Kani underscored the importance of collaborative efforts, signaling a unified commitment within BRICS to reducing dependency on the dollar.

He clarified that the initiatives aim to establish a framework fostering economic autonomy and resilience among member nations.

The BRICS group, initially comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, established in 2009, has emerged as a significant force shaping global economic discussions. 

Iran, alongside Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, has received an invitation to join this influential bloc. Their anticipated full membership, official from January 01, 2024, marks a substantial shift in the geopolitical landscape.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, provided insights into BRICS countries accelerating the transition to national currencies. 

This strategic shift aligns with the shared vision of establishing a more balanced and resilient global economic framework, reducing vulnerabilities associated with a singular currency.

BRICS has announced plans to introduce a gold-backed currency for settling international trade payments, challenging the global reserve status of the US dollar. This decision adds momentum to the ongoing de-dollarization trend unfolding in the global economy.

Iran's active involvement in the BRICS initiative toward de-dollarization aligns with a broader trend among influential nations reshaping the global economic landscape.

As BRICS evolves, its concerted efforts toward economic autonomy become increasingly significant in shaping the future of international trade and finance.

Modi passes G20 gavel to Lula

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an end on Sunday to the G20 Summit in New Delhi by passing on a ceremonial gavel to Brazil, which will take the bloc’s presidency.

“I want to congratulate Brazil’s president and my friend Lula da Silva, and hand over the presidency’s gavel to him,” Modi said.

Modi congratulated Lula, while handing him over the presidency of G20 after the closing session of the G20 Summit 2023 at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi

Brazil officially will take over the mantle of the presidency of the elite grouping on December 01, 2023. Speaking on the occasion, Lula congratulated Modi and thanked India for its efforts to give voice to the topics of interest to emerging economies.

Lula also listed social inclusion, the fight against hunger, energy transition and sustainable development as G20 priorities.

He said the UN Security Council needs new developing countries as permanent, non-permanent members to regain political strength.

“We want greater representation for emerging countries at the World Bank and the IMF,” he said.

“Brazilian presidency of the G20 has three priorities — first, social inclusion and fight against hunger. Second, energy transition and sustainable development in its three aspects... Third, the reform of global governance institutions.

“All these priorities are part of the Brazilian presidency motto which says ‘building a fair world and a sustainable planet’. Two task forces will be created — global alliance against hunger and poverty and the global mobilization against climate change.”

Lula said on Saturday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would not be arrested in Brazil if he attends the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Interviewed on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Delhi by news show Firstpost, Lula said Putin would be invited to next year’s event, adding that he himself planned to attend a BRICS bloc of developing nations meeting due in Russia before the Rio meeting.

“I believe that Putin can go easily to Brazil,” Lula said. “What I can say to you is that if I’m president of Brazil, and he comes to Brazil, there’s no way he will be arrested.”

On the occasion, Modi proposed to hold a virtual session of G20 at the end of November this year.

“In the last two days, you have put forward your views, given suggestions and a number of proposals have been put forward. It is our responsibility that the suggestions that have come forth are closely looked upon as to how they can be speeded up,” Modi said.

“It is my proposal that we hold another session of the G20 virtually in November-end. In that session, we can review the issues that have been agreed upon during this summit. Our teams will share the details of it with all of view. I hope all of you will join this (session),” he said.

“With this, I declare the G20 summit as closed,” Modi said. 

Expansion of BRICS: What are the economic implications?

In late August it was announced that from 2024, the BRICS—a political grouping that currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—will admit six new members: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, the UAE and Ethiopia.

The eleven countries combined represent around 45% of the planet’s population, over 40% of world oil production and roughly a third of global GDP. The BRICS average economic growth rate is likely to be notably above the global average. That said, the G7’s GDP is still substantially larger at market prices, and should remain so over the medium term.

The group’s key economic institution, the New Development Bank (NDB), is still tiny in comparison to other multilateral lenders. The Bank has financed projects worth around US$33 billion since 2015; in contrast, the World Bank alone committed around US$50 billion each year over the same period.

Other overarching economic structures are lacking, and a BRICS trade deal seems difficult to fathom given members’ vastly different stages of development and policy priorities.

Internal geopolitical disputes could further complicate economic rapprochement between members: Egypt and Ethiopia are at loggerheads over a dam on the Nile River, relations between Iran and its Gulf neighbors are still strained, and there are tensions between India and China over their shared Himalayan border and Indian restrictions on Chinese imports and technology.

The expansion of the BRICS could encourage greater political overtures and financial generosity from the G7 towards emerging markets going forward; the G20 summit later this year will be key to watch, with the UN calling on US$500 billion of annual financing from wealthy nations.

More countries are likely to join the BRICS in the coming years, as current members—particularly China and Russia—look to bolster an alternative to the G7-led world order.

BRICS members will increasingly conduct intra-member trade in local currencies to reduce dependence on the dollar, with the yuan and rupee set to be major beneficiaries.

That said, the US dollar will remain the global reserve currency for the foreseeable future - incumbency, dollar liquidity, the strength of the US economy, and the reliability of the US government as a debt issuer are key advantages. As for the BRICS grouping as a whole, it is likely to remain more of a political than an economic force.

On the BRICS’ prospects, EIU analysts said, “The BRICS group will not become a solid construction, regardless of how many bricks are added to the wall, and it will continue to face internal tensions and divisions. However, the expansion will bolster its geopolitical significance and its combined economic power, and the organization will continue to evolve. The relatively trouble-free and productive BRICS summit will enhance South Africa’s standing without damaging its relations with key Western partners.”

On the future of the dollar, ING analysts said, “Until international issuers and investors are happy to issue and hold international debt in non-dollar currencies – and the take-up of CNY Panda bonds has been very slow indeed – we suspect this will be a decade-long progression to a multi-polar world, a world in which perhaps the dollar, the euro and the renminbi become the dominant currencies in the Americas, Europe and Asia respectively.”

Courtesy: Focus Economics

Can BRICS currency be adopted?

Brazilian President called on Wednesday for the BRICS nations to create a common currency for trade and investment between each other, as a means of reducing their vulnerability to dollar exchange rate fluctuations. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made the proposal at a BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

Officials and economists have pointed out the difficulties involved in such a project, given the economic, political and geographic disparities between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Brazilian president doesn't believe nations that don't use the dollar should be forced to trade in the currency, and he has also advocated for a common currency in the Mercosur bloc of South American countries.

A BRICS currency increases our payment options and reduces our vulnerabilities, he told the summit's opening plenary session.

South African officials had said a BRICS currency was not on the agenda for the summit.

I n July, India's foreign minister said, "There is no idea of a BRICS currency". Its foreign secretary said before departing for the summit that boosting trade in national currencies would be discussed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the gathering, which he attended via video link, would discuss switching trade between member countries away from the dollar to national currencies.

China has not commented on the idea. President Xi Jinping spoke at the summit of promoting the reform of the international financial and monetary system.

Building a BRICS currency would be a political project, South African central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago told a radio station in July.

"If you want it, you'll have to get a banking union, you'll have to get a fiscal union, you've got to get macroeconomic convergence," Kganyago said.

"Importantly, you need a disciplining mechanism for the countries that fall out of line with it... Plus they will need a common central bank... where does it get located?"

Trade imbalances are also a problem, Herbert Poenisch, a senior fellow at Zhejiang University, wrote in a blog for think-tank OMFIF.

All BRICS member countries have China as their main trading partner and little trade with each other.

BRICS leaders have said they want to use their national currencies more instead of the dollar, which strengthened sharply last year as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and Russia invaded Ukraine, making dollar debt and many imports more expensive.

Russia's sanctions-imposed exile from global financial systems last year also fuelled speculation that non-western allies would shift away from the dollar.

"The objective, irreversible process of de-dollarisation of our economic ties is gaining momentum," Putin told the summit on Tuesday.

The greenback's share of official foreign exchange reserves fell to a 20-year low of 58% in the final quarter of 2022, and 47% when adjusted for exchange rate changes, according to International Monetary Fund data.

The dollar still dominates global trade. It is on one side of almost 90% of global foreign exchange transactions, according to Bank of International Settlements Data.

De-dollarizing would need countless exporters and importers, as well as borrowers, lenders and currency traders across the world, to independently decide to use other currencies.

 

Chinese President calls for BRICS unity

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for unity among his BRICS counterparts at a summit in South Africa on Wednesday as he pushed the case for expanding the grouping to face a global period of turbulence and transformation.

Leaders of the bloc of leading developing nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are meeting in Johannesburg with discussions around establishing a framework and criteria for admitting new members topping the agenda.

While all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, divisions remain over how much and how quickly.

Bloc heavyweight China has long pushed for expansion and views its deteriorating relations with Washington as well as heightened global tensions resulting from the Ukraine war as adding urgency to the enlargement project.

"The world is undergoing major shifts, division and regrouping ... it has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation," Xi said.

"We, the BRICS countries, should always bear in mind our founding purpose of strengthening ourselves through unity."

BRICS group countries have economies that are vastly different in scale and governments that often seem to have few foreign policy goals in common, complicating decision-making.

The economy of China for example, is more than 40 times larger than South Africa's, Africa's most developed country.

Russia, isolated by the United States and Europe over its invasion of Ukraine, is also pushing to quickly grow BRICS and forge it into a counterweight to the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, sees BRICS membership as a way of showing the West he still has friends.

He did not travel to South Africa but used a video address to attack Western powers.

"I want to note that it was the desire to maintain their hegemony in the world, the desire of some countries to maintain this hegemony that led to the severe crisis in Ukraine," he said.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that he and Xi had similar positions on BRICS expansion. But pushback has come from Brazil and India, which have both forged closer ties with the West.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday rejected the idea the bloc should seek to rival the United States and Group of Seven wealthy economies.

While he is pushing for neighbour Argentina to join, he said any new members would need to meet certain conditions, so the group does not become a "Tower of Babel".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday his country, which is wary of Chinese dominance, fully supported expansion.

However, an Indian official familiar with discussions late on Tuesday between the leaders said Modi indicated there have to be ground rules about how it should happen and who can join.

India and China periodically clash over their disputed Himalayan border.

More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials, 22 of whom have formally asked to be admitted.

Details of criteria for joining could be included in a joint declaration due to be finalized on Wednesday.

Beyond the enlargement question, boosting the use of member states' local currencies in trade and financial transactions to lessen dependency of the US dollar is also on the summit agenda.

South African organizers had said there would be no discussions of a common BRICS currency, an idea floated by Brazil as an alternative to dollar-dependence.

At least 15 potential new member countries - including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Argentina - are under consideration to join the bloc's New Development Bank (NDB), its chief financial officer said on Wednesday.

The NDB, which has long tapped China's capital market for funding, is registering an Indian rupee bond program worth US$2.5 billion over five years, after it issued its first South African rand bond last week.

 

BRICS no rival to G7 and G20, says Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that the BRICS bloc of nations aims to organize the developing Global South and is not meant to rival the United States and the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy economies.

His comments point to a divergence of vision as leaders of the bloc - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - arrived in Johannesburg for a summit that will weigh expanding the group as some members push to forge it into a counterweight to the West.

Heightened global tensions provoked by the Ukraine war and Beijing's growing rivalry with the United States have pushed China and Russia - whose President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually - to seek to strengthen the BRICS bloc.

Their vision of an expanded BRICS capable of rivaling US and European global dominance has, however, been met with skepticism by some members. And the outcome of the debate over enlargement could determine the future of a bloc long criticized for a lack of cohesion.

"We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States," Brazil's Lula said on Tuesday during a social media broadcast from Johannesburg. "We just want to organize ourselves."

Summit host South Africa welcomed China's Xi Jinping, the leading proponent of enlarging BRICS, for a state visit on Tuesday morning ahead of meetings with the grouping's other leaders planned for later in the day.

"I am confident that the upcoming summit will be an important milestone in the development of the BRICS mechanism," Xi said shortly after his arrival in South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said during a bilateral meeting with Xi that their two countries had similar views regarding expansion.

"We share your view, President Xi, that BRICS is a vitally important forum which plays an important role in the reform of global governance and in the promotion of multilateralism and cooperation throughout the world," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attending the August 22 to 24 summit.

Putin, who is wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not travel to South Africa.

Beyond the enlargement question, boosting the use of member states' local currencies is also on the summit agenda. South African organizers, however, say there will be no discussions of a BRICS currency, an idea floated by Brazil earlier this year as an alternative to dollar-dependence.

BRICS remains a disparate group, ranging from China, the world's second biggest economy now grappling with a slowdown, to South Africa, an economic minnow facing a power crisis that's led to daily blackouts.

Russia is being hammered by sanctions over its war in Ukraine is keen to show the West it still has friends.

India, however, has increasingly reached out to the West, as has Brazil under its new leader.

Two members - India and China - have periodically clashed along their disputed border, adding to the challenge of decision-making in a group that relies on consensus.

Expansion has long been a goal of China, which hopes that broader membership will lend clout to a grouping already home to some 40% of the world's population and a quarter of global GDP.

The leaders will hold a mini-retreat and dinner on Tuesday evening where they are likely to discuss a framework and criteria for admitting new countries.

India, which is wary of Chinese dominance and has warned against rushing expansion, has positive intent and an open mind, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday.

Brazil, meanwhile, is concerned that expanding BRICS will dilute its influence, though Lula reiterated on Tuesday his desire to see neighbour Argentina join the bloc.

While a potential BRICS enlargement remains up in the air, the grouping's pledge to become a champion of the developing world and offer an alternative to a world order dominated by wealthy Western nations is already finding resonance.

Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials. Of them, nearly two dozen have formally asked to be admitted, with some expected to send delegations to Johannesburg.

 

What is on top of agenda at BRICS upcoming meeting in South Africa?

BRICS leaders are scheduled to meet in South Africa next week to discuss how to turn a loose club of nations accounting for a quarter of the global economy into a geopolitical force that can challenge the West's dominance in world affairs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not join leaders from Brazil, India, China and South Africa amid rifts over whether to expand the bloc to include dozens of ‘Global South’ nations queuing up to join.

South Africa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24.

Spread over the globe and with economies that operate in vastly different ways, the main thing uniting the BRICS is skepticism about a world order they see as serving the interests of the United States and its rich-country allies who promote international norms they enforce but don't always respect.

Few details have emerged about what they plan to discuss, but expansion is expected to be high on the agenda, as some 40 nations have shown interest in joining, either formally or informally, according to South Africa. They include Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.

China, seeking to expand its geopolitical influence as its tussles with the United States, wants to enlarge BRICS quickly, while Brazil is resisting expansion, fearing the already unwieldy club could see its stature diluted by it.

In a written response to questions by Reuters, China's foreign ministry said, “It supports progress in expanding membership, and welcomes more like-minded partners to join the 'BRICS family' at an early date."

Russia needs friends to counter its diplomatic isolation over Ukraine, and so is keen to bring in new members, as is its most important African ally, South Africa.

In a nod to the bloc's African hosts, the theme of its 15th summit is "BRICS and Africa", emphasizing how the bloc can build ties with a continent increasingly becoming a theatre for competition between world powers.

South Africa's foreign minister Naledi Pandor in a statement last week said BRICS nations wanted to show global leadership in addressing the needs ... of the majority of the world, namely ... development and inclusion of the Global South in multilateral systems, in a veiled swipe at Western dominance.

BRICS nations are keen to project themselves as alternative development partners to the West. China's foreign ministry said BRICS sought to reform global governance systems (to) increase the representation ... of developing countries and emerging markets.

The bloc's New Development Bank (NDB) wants to de-dollarize finance and offer an alternative to the much-criticized Breton Woods institutions.

But it has approved only US$33 billion of loans in nearly a decade -- about a third of the amount the World Bank committed to disbursing just last year -- and has recently been hobbled by sanctions on member Russia.

South African officials say talk of a BRICS currency, mooted by Brazil earlier this year as an alternative to dollar-dependence, is off the table.

With 40% of global population, the BRICS carbon-intensive nations also make up about the same share of greenhouse gas emissions. Officials in Brazil, China and South Africa said climate change may come up but indicated it wouldn't be a priority.

BRICS countries blame rich nations for causing most global warming and want them to take on more of the burden of decarburizing the world's energy supply. China was accused of blocking climate discussions at the G20, which it denied.

 

Brazil attains status of largest corn exporter

United States corn export dominance is fading in an increasingly competitive global marketplace as Brazil, aided by a new supply agreement with China, is set to out ship the US for just the second time this season.

Meanwhile, Mexico, America's other top market, is preparing to limit imports of genetically modified corn that comprises more than 90% of every US harvest.

The eroding export market share spells trouble for the US$90 billion US corn industry as domestic demand for feeding livestock and producing ethanol has also cooled.

Plantings of America's most widely grown crop are likely to decline and farm incomes could suffer in the years ahead as a result, analysts said.

"When we look at US corn demand long term, we wonder where new demand is coming from," said Stephen Nicholson, global grains and oilseeds sector strategist with Rabobank, an agricultural lender.

"Brazil is likely taking a bigger share of the global market, ethanol has likely peaked and animal protein is likely not going to grow fast enough," he said.

Illinois farmer Richard Guebert is concerned. "We need a good export market for our corn. The seed technology in Brazil is getting better and better each and every year. They're not going away," he said.

Shrinking corn exports echo challenges faced by US soybeans a decade ago as Brazil ramped up production to feed soaring Chinese demand, eventually capturing the top supplier crown in 2013. The country now typically dominates the global soy export market for eight months of the year or more, undercutting US exports.

Brazilian corn exports are expected to flood the global marketplace beginning in July and into the US autumn harvest. The country harvests two corn crops from its tropical soils each year, unlike the US.

Despite the limited demand, US farmers expanded corn seeding this year to the largest in a decade, encouraged by lower seed and fertilizer costs and good planting weather, the government said last week. With a record Brazilian crop flooding the market, US corn farmers could see prices fall.

Still, Rabobank forecasts corn plantings will shrink to 88 million acres (356,123 square kilometers) in the next three years from more than 94 million currently, Nicholson said.

China expanded its list of approved Brazilian corn exporting facilities late last year, jumpstarting shipments from Brazil. Before that, the bulk of China's corn imports had come from the US and Ukraine.

"Brazil has the ability to ramp that planting area up to meet Chinese demand in a way that the United States doesn't," said Matthew Roberts, senior grain analyst with consultancy Terrain.

Through mid-June, US corn exports to China for shipment ahead of the next harvest were down 48% from a year ago, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed.

China's overall corn imports are down about 10% this year, according to customs data, as buyers there await ample supplies of cheap Brazilian corn in the coming months.

"Brazil's winning the game right now. We're just not competitive on price," said one US export trader, citing Brazilian corn offers that are US$30 per metric ton below US Gulf Coast port prices.

Total US corn export sales in April and May were the lowest in at least 22 years, according to weekly USDA export sales data. The period included three weeks in which more purchases were canceled than booked, and the two worst weeks of US corn exports on record.

US corn exporters are hurting from stiff competition from cheaper Brazilian supplies and a strong dollar that makes their produce more expensive to buyers abroad.

Mexico has been a bright spot for US corn exports this season, with sales of the 2022 harvest through mid-June down only 11% from last year, compared with a 36% year-on-year drop sales to all destinations, according to USDA data.

An ongoing dispute over Mexico's decree to ban some biotech corn imports may risk disruption to US shipments, analysts said. The country is boosting corn production by about 2 million tons, the agriculture ministry said.

US corn exports in the 2022-23 marketing year that ends on August 31, 2023 are currently projected at 43.817 tons, a decade low representing a 24.8% share of global trade, according to USDA data. Brazil's projected exports were seen at a record 55 million tons.

Rapid growth in Brazilian corn production offset loss of much of the corn exports from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

It is the second smallest US share of the global corn market on record, behind only the 2012-13 season when a severe drought slashed production and sent prices to record highs.

Some analysts expect the USDA to cut its exports outlook in its next monthly report to be released on July 12, 2023.

The USDA forecasts 2023-24 US corn exports at 53.342 million tons, remaining behind Brazil's 55 million ton outlook.

 

Number of countries willing to join BRICS Currency on the rise

The list of countries ready to join the BRICS alliance and accept the new currency is growing. From a set of 19 countries in April, the numbers have spiked to 41 by the end of June. A total of 22 new countries expressed interest to enter the bloc and ditch the US dollar in two months. 

The next BRICS summit will be held in August in South Africa where the bloc of five nations will collectively decide the formation of a new currency.

BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The decision to expand the alliance will be jointly taken in the next BRICS summit and the bloc could soon become BRICS Plus.

The total number of countries that could challenge the US dollar on the global stage has reached 41. The developing nations that want to accept BRICS currency hail from Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

The countries that have shown interest to join the BRICS alliance ahead of the summit are Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

Belarus is the first country in Eastern Europe that expressed interest to accept the new BRICS currency. On the other hand, France has also shown its interest to attend the next BRICS summit in South Africa.

Additionally, many countries in Africa remain on the sidelines and could announce their support for the BRICS currency after its launch.

It is worth noting why Africa is interested in BRICS and not the US dollar for global trade. 

Kenya has urged African nations to stop using the US dollar and trade in native currencies within the continent.

 

Can BRICS dare to challenge US hegemony?

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It will hold its first ministerial meeting on Friday and Saturday in preparation for heads of state summit in August. This year's gathering will be held in Cape Town, South Africa.

Around 20 non-BRICS foreign ministers will be in attendance at the end of the week, with many countries actively expressing an interest in becoming members.

During last year's BRICS summit in China, a strong message was delivered of putting development on top of everything else on the international agenda. As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out at the UN General Assembly, the goal of the initiative is that no country or individual should be left behind in pursuing development.

As the rotating chair switches to South Africa, among the themes of this year's summit is multilateralism in promoting international development.

It's no surprise that the success of the BRICS mechanism has attracted many like-minded nations who are expressing a desire to join, from the UAE in Asia to Algeria in Africa and Argentina in Latin America.

Among other issues on the agenda at the BRICS summit in August is increased economic autonomy. Another is plans to decide on admitting new members and what criteria they would have to meet.

Talks on the enlargement of the bloc are mainly based on the interest of other countries over the self-made economic prosperity of its members, as other nations who seek BRICS membership are growing tired of dealing with the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.

According to Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to BRICS, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are in talks to join the economic bloc.

“What will be discussed is the expansion of BRICS and the modalities of how this will happen,” Bloomberg has cited his as saying.

“Thirteen countries have formally asked to join and another six have asked informally. We are getting applications to join every day.” 

Since its formation as the four-member BRIC in 2006, the bloc has only added one new member, South Africa, in 2010, which made it BRICS.

In March, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said international interest in the BRICS group was huge, Saudi Arabia is one, she said. Others are United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, and Argentina, as well as Mexico and Nigeria."

Iran is said to have already applied to join BRICS and its foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has confirmed he will be participating in the Cape Town meeting at the official invitation of South Africa.  

The latest submissions for membership give substance to the argument of the rapidly changing global developments following the Ukraine, Yemen and Afghanistan wars.

Among the attractive aspects of BRICS is that nations view the alliance of emerging markets as an alternative, and not necessarily a challenge, to a US-led world order which is weakening, as experts point out, because of America's unilateral foreign policy blunders.

Experts also argue that Europe lacks any sovereign world vision, as witnessed by the Ukraine war, where it has taken its marching orders from Washington and failed to bring peace to Ukraine, as European households suffer from record inflation as a direct result of the conflict on its doorstep.

The Ukraine war has had a direct impact at international scale when it comes to food and energy.

In the absence of any willpower to stamp its authority on regional affairs, let alone global affairs, Europe has, in essence, failed the international community as a reliable economic partner, forcing many to seek alternatives to the West.

Iran for instance has the second largest gas reserves in the world, something that Europe is desperately searching for, but has not approached Tehran about, because of its bizarre compliance to illegal US unilateral sanctions. It now looks that the much-needed Iranian commodity will most likely be heading elsewhere.

While BRICS has its own bank (New Development Bank), it is not as large as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but this could be down to just a matter of time as more countries seek to join the economic bloc.

The World Bank and the IMF were founded back in the 1940's and have failed in their declared goals of creating a more stable and prosperous global economy.

The austerity that comes with loans has brought increasingly high levels of poverty and inequality to countries who borrowed money from them. Just ask the people of Greece or Argentina. Critics accuse the US of having unfair influence on the World Back and the IMF.

On the other hand, the New Development Bank or the BRICS Bank, which was just established in 2015 and with its stated aim to help build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future for the planet is appealing.

It may sound like a good advertising slogan, but the facts on the ground show BRICS is attracting a record number of clients seeking to expand the bloc.

According to reports, BRICS is in talks with Saudi Arabia to become a member of its New Development Bank. While Saudi Arabia has yet to confirm this, such reports were unheard of just a year ago.

The idea itself makes sense as most oil purchasing clients are now based in the East and Latin America. But it will be a major setback for the United States, which will see an agonizing decline of petrodollars.

In the early 1970s, Washington and Riyadh reached an agreement that Saudi oil sales to all international clients be sold in dollars in exchange for American military protection, something that the US failed to adhere to in the Saudi conflict with Yemen.

Today, Saudi Arabia is in talks with Beijing to sell its oil to China in the Yuan and has restored diplomatic ties with Iran in another blow to the US and its extremely mischievous proxy in the region Israel.

Should the Kingdom become a New Development Bank member, it would be a boost to the bank as well as for Saudi Arabia itself, as BRICS members, among other things, provide a safety net in times of difficulty.

For instance, BRICS members have not bowed to NATO pressure to join the sanctions regime against Russia.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has argued that BRICS nations should establish their own common currency, highlighting the advantages of such a unified economic measure that would be independent of the US dollar.

Under a US dollar dominated world order, prosperity has been taken over by poverty while peace has been replaced by violence.

In April, BRICS' deputy ministers and special envoys held a meeting in Cape Town to discuss, among other issues, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as developments in the Persian Gulf states, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Western Sahara and Yemen.

Such platforms provide an opportunity to bring emerging markets together to discuss both the financial and political aspects of the world.

 

Iran Petrochemical Forum inaugurated

The 14th Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF) kicked off at IRIB International Conference Center (IICC) in Tehran on Monday.

The inaugural ceremony of the event was participated by Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, the vice president for science and technology, Majid Chegeni, the managing director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), and senior director of the country’s petrochemical sector.

Focusing on “Value Chain, New Opportunities”, the two-day forum revolves around eight topics, including: “Feedstock, products and supply chain”, “Solutions and advanced optimization technologies”, “Integration and coordination between petrochemical and refining complexes”, “Production process and market”, “Methanol market and its roles”, “Global energy crisis and future of the petrochemical industry”, “Investment and financial supply opportunities”, and “Energy optimization and production without pollution”.

As stated by the managing director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC), “Our today’s important objective of completing the production chain in the country’s petrochemical sector highlights the significance of holding this conference”, 

Morteza Shahmirzaei has expressed hope that IPF can pave the way to achieve all strategic petrochemical products in the world.

As reported, 15 countries, including the members of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as well as some European countries, are participating in IPF, which is a famous scientific conference in the world, and the latest products and achievements of the petrochemical industry are being presented and introduced in the two-day event.

 

The World Beyond Ukraine

“Ukraine has united the world,” declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a speech on the first anniversary of the start of the war with Russia. The war may have united the West, but it has left the world divided. And that rift will only widen if Western countries fail to address its root causes.

The traditional transatlantic alliance of European and North American countries has mobilized in unprecedented fashion for a protracted conflict in Ukraine. It has offered extensive humanitarian support for people inside Ukraine and for Ukrainian refugees. And it is preparing for what will be a massive rebuilding job after the war. But outside Europe and North America, the defense of Ukraine is not on top of agenda.

Few governments endorse the brazen Russian invasion, yet many remain unpersuaded by the West’s insistence that the struggle for freedom and democracy in Ukraine is also theirs.

As French President Emmanuel Macron said at the Munich Security Conference in February, “I am struck by how we have lost the trust of the global South.” He is right. Western conviction about the war and its importance is matched elsewhere by skepticism at best and outright disdain at worst.

The gap between the West and the rest goes beyond the rights and wrongs of the war. Instead, it is the product of deep frustration—anger, in truth—about the Western-led mismanagement of globalization since the end of the Cold War.

The concerted Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrown into sharp relief the occasions when the West violated its own rules or when it was conspicuously missing in action in tackling global problems.

Such arguments can seem beside the point in light of the daily brutality meted out by Russian forces in Ukraine. But Western leaders should address them, not dismiss them. The gulf in perspectives is dangerous for a world facing enormous global risks. And it threatens the renewal of a rules-based order that reflects a new, multipolar balance of power in the world.

The Russian invasion has produced remarkable unity and action from the liberal democratic world. Western countries have coordinated an extensive slate of economic sanctions targeting Russia. European states have increasingly aligned their climate policies on decarbonization with national security-related commitments to end their dependence on Russian oil and gas.

Western governments have rallied to support Ukraine with enormous shipments of military aid. Finland and Sweden aim to be soon admitted to NATO.

Europe has adopted a welcoming policy toward the eight million Ukrainian refugees within its borders.

All these efforts have been advocated by a US administration that has been sure-footed in partnering with European allies and others.

The squabbles over Afghanistan and the AUKUS security partnership (a 2021 deal struck by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States that irked France) seem a long time ago.

Many in the West have been surprised at this turn of events. Clearly, so was the Kremlin, which imagined that its invasion would not provoke a strong and determined Western response. The West’s unity and commitment are not matched elsewhere.

At the beginning of the war, the UN General Assembly voted 141 to 5, with 47 absences or abstentions, to condemn the Russian invasion. But that result flattered to deceive.

“Most non-European countries that voted to deplore Russia’s aggression last March did not follow up with sanctions. Doing the right thing at the UN can be an alibi for not doing much about the war in the real world.”

In a series of UN votes since the war started, around 40 countries representing nearly 50% of the world’s population have regularly abstained or voted against motions condemning the Russian invasion.

Fifty-eight countries abstained from a vote, in April 2022, to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries that are officially neutral or supportive of Russia. These countries do not form some kind of axis of autocracy; they include several notable democracies, such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, and South Africa.

Much of the fence-sitting is not driven by disagreements over the conflict in Ukraine but is instead a symptom of a wider syndrome, anger at perceived Western double standards and frustration at stalled reform efforts in the international system.

The distinguished Indian diplomat Shivshankar Menon put the point sharply in Foreign Affairs earlier this year when he wrote, “Alienated and resentful, many developing countries see the war in Ukraine and the West’s rivalry with China as distracting from urgent issues such as debt, climate change, and the effects of the pandemic.”

Courtesy: Foreign Affairs

 

Tehran to host Petrochemical Forum

Tehran will host the 14th edition of Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF) at the IRIB International Conference Hall on May 1-2.

The 14th Iran Petrochemical Forum is a suitable ground for cooperation between active domestic and foreign companies so that the latest developments, plans and new investment opportunities for the development of the country's petrochemical industry are provided to the participants.

Hassan Abbas-Zadeh said during this international event, a large number of specialized meetings will be held, and a strategic meeting is dedicated to the members of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) with the aim of examining the future cooperation of the Iranian petrochemical industry in the markets of the BRICS member countries, highlighting that for the first time, member countries of the BRICS group will attend the international conference of the Iranian petrochemical industry.

Other important event of this conference is the holding of special meetings with the presence of ambassadors and political and commercial representatives of Iran in order to examine the development of energy diplomacy, empowering the petrochemical industry with the aim of preventing crude sales (selling final products instead), and self-sufficiency in this industry, the NPC director further noted.

The petrochemical industry plays a crucial role in Iran’s non-oil economy, as petrochemical export is the second-largest source of revenue for the country after crude oil. Petrochemical exports already constitute nearly 33 percent of the country’s non-oil exports.

According to NPC Managing Director Morteza Shahmirzaei, the petrochemical industry is a value and job-creating industry, which has no risk.

The official has stated that currently, the petrochemical sector has the highest added value in the oil industry chain.

He has announced that marketing Iran’s petrochemical products throughout the world is on the agenda of the NPC’s activity, and mentioned completing the production value chain as another major program of the company.

“As we have previously announced, we will fully provide all the capacity of the National Petrochemical Company to the private sector and investors so that the plan to complete the value chain of the petrochemical industry will be realized”, he noted.

 

Lula backs replacing US dollar in foreign trade

Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on BRICS nations to come up with an alternative to replace the US dollar in foreign trade, supporting China’s crusade against US global dominance just as he prepares to meet with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. 

Lula’s remarks were made on Thursday during a visit to the Shanghai-based New Development Bank, an institution created by BRICS countries, which, along with Brazil and China, include Russia, India and South Africa. Former Brazil President Dilma Rousseff is the bank’s new chief executive. 

 “Why can’t an institution like the BRICS bank have a currency to finance trade relations between Brazil and China, between Brazil and all the other BRICS countries?” he said. “Who decided that the US dollar was the (trade) currency after the end of gold parity?” 

Beijing has ramped up efforts to boost the use of its own currency in foreign trade. Last month, Brazil and China took steps to make it easier to settle their foreign trade operations in yuan or reais, with the stated goal of reducing costs by eliminating a third currency from the transactions. 

Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, who’s accompanying Lula in his trip to China, said local currencies are already used in bilateral trade through instruments such as credit receipts. The goal, he added, is to expand mechanisms that allow trade operations to be settled without the intermediation of a third currency. 

“The advantage is to avoid the straitjacket imposed by necessarily having trade operations settled in a currency of a country not involved in the transaction,” he told reporters in Shanghai.

 Courtesy: Bloomberg