BRICS+ continues a major expansion of cooperation among its members, potential candidates, and partner states. In addition to ambitious inter-state agendas, the Union is also strengthening cooperation at the local government level in dozens of countries around the world.
The BRICS+ Association of Cities and Municipalities was established just five years after the start of the partnership dialogue at the regional level.
The founding conference of the Association was held in early June in Kazan, one of the largest cities in Russia, which is this year’s BRICS Chair. The Russian side is not only one of the co-founders of the organization, but an active supporter of expanding the organization and strengthening its role in the multipolar world. It is the Russian Federation, with its vast experience in implementing programmes of assistance to developing countries since the Soviet Union that has been pushing for both large-scale humanitarian agendas and the creation of a platform for partnership at the municipal level.
Last year, the city of St. Petersburg hosted the fifth International BRICS+ Municipal Forum, which was attended by about 7,000 delegates from more than 200 cities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The results of the numerous meetings, negotiations and consultations of the participants of this summit led to the creation of the Association of Cities and Municipalities.
It is important to note that the rapidly growing power of BRICS+, which already includes nine permanent members with a population of 3.5 billion people and a share of 35% of global GDP, in itself opens up many opportunities for regional development of the member countries of the organization. In addition, 32 more countries are currently at various stages of integration with BRICS+, which in the future will allow the union to unite the vast majority of humanity and possess unprecedented economic, production, and resource potential.
For many years, the original BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have been working on food, medical; infrastructure, and energy support for developing countries in Africa, and these projects have been growing in scope every year. For example, over the past five years, Russia alone has sent about 400,000 tons of food and tens of thousands of tons of potash and nitrogen fertilizers to the continent’s poorest countries, which has helped to significantly reduce the impact of fluctuations in world grain prices and avoid large-scale famine. In addition, Russia, China and India are now providing significant support to many African countries in the fight against terrorism, building of roads, ports, hospitals and schools.
The establishment of the BRICS+ Association of Cities and Municipalities, even before its formalization, has become an effective mechanism for the exchange of experience between local authorities of several dozen countries, as well as a platform for the development of network cooperation between hundreds of megacities, small towns, and individual regions. For municipalities in Africa, such a platform is a unique opportunity to improve the quality of life of the population, as the BRICS+ founding countries have vast experience in modernizing the urban environment, creating modern infrastructure, and digitalizing state and municipal services.
For instance, Russian and Chinese municipal authorities made their major cities and rural settlements some of the most improved in the world in just two decades and are ready to share not only their experience but also technology, investments, digital platforms, and methodologies. In addition, the intensification of partnerships at the municipal level with the world’s largest economies is a great opportunity to develop business ties for both large companies in Africa and local businesses.
The rapid growth of BRICS+ and the promising cooperation platforms that are constantly emerging from it are excellent incentives for the sustainable development of African countries and people’s well-being. BRICS leading lights have reiterated that cooperation inside BRICS+ is not limited to symbolic one-off donations, but creates institutions, mechanisms, and platforms that will enable Africa to take its rightful place in a just multipolar world.
