We, the participants of the BRICS academic process and members of the BRICS Think Council from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa attended the 14th BRICS Academic forum on 20 May, 2022. We commend the efforts and contributions that BRICS countries have made over the years to promote cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. Focusing on how BRICS countries can build high quality strategic partnership for common development, our discussions and deliberations have been thorough, in-depth, and exhaustive with broad consensus reached. We are of the view that as global technological revolution and innovation is evolving and new growth drivers are gaining momentum, human society has more means than ever at disposal to create wealth and overcome difficulties to ensure sustainable development.
Meanwhile, we have also noted that as the world is undergoing transformation, the international situation becomes more acute and complex, with mounting destabilising factors and uncertainties. Factors including, among others, the persistent COVID-19 pandemic, unbalanced global economic recovery, growing economic and financial risks, inadequate global governance reform and widening technology gap between developed and developing countries, have posed challenges to the attainment of the global development agenda and aggravated global development imbalance.
We are of the view that development not only provides the key to the solution of major problems, but also constitutes an fundamental basis for improving people’s wellbeing. To realise common development under the new circumstances, BRICS countries must rally more closely, carry forward and reinforce the
BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and practice true multilateralism in fostering high-quality partnership that is more comprehensive, consolidated, pragmatic and inclusive and significantly increase the say of BRICS countries in the global development cause. To this end, it is important for BRICS countries to work together with the rest of the international community including emerging markets and developing countries in particular, to uphold humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, pursue a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, safeguard the international order and system underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, ensure fairness and justice in the reform of global governance system, push for an economic globalisation and digital transformation that are more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all, and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
BRICS countries are playing active role in achieving sustainable development goals: Brazil's Federal Development trategy for 2020-2031; Russia's food, energy and healthcare security; India's global cooperation through the International Solar Alliance launched at COP 21 followed by the launch of the Green Grid Initiative - One Sun, One World, One Grid, at COP 26; China's Global Development Initiative; South Africa's National Development Plan and Vision 2030. Based on the afore-mentioned points of view, we recommend the following actions to be taken to build a brighter shared future for the international community based on mutually beneficial cooperation .
I. Jointly Foster an Open and Inclusive Environment to Unleashing the Potential of the Sustainable Future.
1. Promote reforms in the global economic governance system and enhance the voice and representation of BRICScountries. Staunch support should be given to open, transparent, fair, inclusive, non-discriminatory and rule-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in World Trade Organisation, with special and differential treatment provisions for developing countries. The normal functioning of a two-stage WTO Dispute Settlement system should be restored and preserved at an early date and necessary reforms should be introduced to elevate the WTO’s authority and effectiveness on the premise that the development interests of developing members are ensured. The IMF should be urged to speed up its quota and governance reform and conclude on schedule the 16th General Review of Quotas by 2023, and the voice of Emerging Markets and Economies should be strengthened in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Macro-policy coordination should be strengthened and major developed economies should be called upon to adopt responsible monetary and financial policies and minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the world economy. Efforts should be made for the maintenance of open, resilient and stable global and regional supply chains. Stronger actions should be taken and the comparative advantages of BRICS countries should be brought into full play for the building of BRICS alliance for industrial cooperation so that BRICS cooperation in industrial, supply and value chains to be further strengthened and to become a new flag-bearer for industrial cooperation.
2. Support the global climate governance system underpinned by fairness, equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) for climate-resilient and low-carbon development. The objectives, principles and provisions of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, including the principle of common, but differentiated responsibilities should be honored. BRICS countries have already set forth nationally determined contributions reflecting our highest ambition based on national circumstances and capabilities. BRICS countries have taken ambitious actions to address climate change within the sustainable development framework and have achieved great progress.
BRICS countries are committed to working towards the success of COP27 with all other Parties in an open, transparent, inclusive and consensus based manner.BRICS countries should be supported by each other in making reasonable nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) in light of their specific conditions and stages of development. Developed countries are urged to fulfil their commitments to provide and mobilize adequate, predictable and timely climate financing and technology to assist developing countries to combat climate change and provide more support in funding, technology and capacity building to developing ones in meeting their NDCs. The low-carbon transformation of the domestic energy mix in BRICS countries should be facilitated. Cooperation on clean energy projects should be conducted to further implement the BRICS Partnership for Urban Environmental Sustainability Initiative and improve the BRICS Environmentally Sound Technology (BEST) Cooperation Platform.
3. Improve the global public health governance system for the building of a global community of health for all. BRICS countries should uphold the central role of the World Health
Organization (WHO) in global public health governance, underscore the importance of observing and improving the International Health Regulations (2005), and support relevant decisions adopted by special sessions of the World Health Assembly. The BRICS countries should support the impartiality of the WHO and strengthen technical multilateral cooperation aimed at enhancing capacities in the fields of responding to major public health emergencies.
Developing countries with weaker public health systems should be supported and assisted in enhancing the resilience of their health systems and their core capacity to handle public health emergencies. A science-based and non-politicized approach should be applied to the origins-tracing of COVID-19,within existing international frameworks including WHO. Extra efforts should be made to promote the waiving of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines for an equitable global access to safe, effective, quality and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. Greater support is required to the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre, and work together to facilitate vaccine-related cooperation in, among others, R&D, production, mutual recognition of standards, safety and efficacy assessment, and market regulation. Efforts must be accelerated to institute a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of mass infectious diseases, strengthen cooperation in the manufacturing and supply of medical and health technologies and products, improve BRICS emergency reserve of public health products, and optimize the global network of emergency supplies. BRICS should initiate a multidisciplinary joint research centre on Epidemics on the study of Pandemics, medicines, diseases, and curing. Furthermore, there should be stimuli for within BRICS investment in health infrastructure.
4.Expand and deepen cooperation in non-traditional security areas for the effective prevention and control of risks and hidden perils to development. The multilateral biodiversity governance system should be upheld for the early conclusion of an ambitious, pragmatic and balanced Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. BRICS countries should strengthen dialogue, exchange views and cooperate in new fields of global governance. In particular, intensive discussions and cooperation should be carried out in areas such as shoring up a defence against cyber-attacks, ensuring the security of domain name resolution and internet access, and countering large-scale information manipulation that endangers national security.
Cooperation should be strengthened on ensuring information security, intelligence information exchanges, personnel training, fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, and technical equipment to forging synergy against transnational crimes including terrorism, drug trafficking and production, human trafficking, cyber-crime, economic crime, illegal trade in wildlife, money laundering, and piracy among others. BRICS countries should promote the implementation of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan among other documents and work towards an expeditious finalization and
