BRICS & New World Order Thread
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Tunisia rejects IMF loans and wants to join BRICS
Published 2 days ago on April 15, 2023
Mahmoud bin Mabrouk, spokesman for the pro-president ‘July 25 Movement’ in Tunisia, said that his country wants to join BRICS, a group of leading emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, that is often seen as an alternative to the Western hegemony.
In November, neighboring Algeria filed an official application to join BRICS, and bin Mabrouk said Tunisia would follow in its North African neighbor’s footsteps. Egypt has also announced its intention to join the bloc.
Sharan Grewal, a nonresident fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, , “It’s not clear how official this bid is. It didn’t come from President Kais Saied or any governmental official, it came from one of the many small, new political movements that have emerged in support of the president since 2021.”
Tunisia has been at an impasse in securing a $2 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. “He [Saied] has railed — that his own government negotiated — as a foreign diktat, and so he could in theory be viewing the BRICS as an alternative mechanism for foreign aid and support,” Grewal added.
‘The 14th BRICS summit’s Beijing Declaration made clear the organization supports membership expansion; China upholds the BRICS spirit of openness, win-win cooperation to accelerate the process,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tunisia’s reported bid to join BRICS.
Dr. Sabina Henneberg, Soref Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy pointed out that Tunisia needs important in order to resume pre-2011 levels of GDP growth and avoid long-term debt. “Beyond that, Tunisia would probably need to acquire more of a reputation as an international powerhouse — recently it has been trying to assert an anti-Western position but not necessarily with strong contributions to the global economy to offer,” she added.
Hennenberg said that Tunisia’s historical ties with Western countries like the US will also mean that it will need to demonstrate stronger anti-West credentials.
Alexandra Blackman, assistant professor of government at Cornell University, said that one of the guiding principles of Tunisian politics, especially under President Saied, is the rejection of foreign interference, and this mantra has been repeated throughout the IMF negotiations.
She said BRICS may seem more appealing as it is perceived at coming with less foreign interference than the IMF, which some critics say is too aligned to US policy.
The "tension" in Russian-Brazil ties over the Ukraine issue was all talk:to St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
According to Mauro Vieira, the invitation was conveyed to Lula da Silva by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their in-person meeting in the presidential residence.South Africa, a former regular attendee, is now
Japan’s government invited the African Union (currently headed by President of Comoros) to the forthcoming G7 summit, excluding regular attendee South Africa.The African Union is now poised to join the G20 as a permanent representative, something supported by majority of G20 members including China.
Pepe Escobar on the latest Macron and Lula meetings:
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The thing is, Russian and Chinese "propaganda" is orders of magnitude more credible and accurate to the truth than US/anglo propaganda and fake news.
Oh the horror!!
What are they gonna do about it? Arrest Brazilian ambassador or something?
BRICS set to surpass G7 in economic growth
The report comes as BRICS has been receiving more and more interest from other states wanting to join
By News Desk - April 19 2023
(Photo Credit: William Potter/Shutterstock)
The member states of the BRICS group, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are expected to surpass the G7 states, led by the United States, in economic growth expectations, according to a Bloomberg report.
The report comes as BRICS has been receiving more and more interest from other states wanting to join.
The Russian foreign minister stated that “more than a dozen” countries have shown interest in joining BRICS this year, including Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bangladesh have acquired equity in the .
The US Dollar has become more for dollarized economies due to rising interest rates regulated by the US Federal Reserve (FED) and the bank’s militarization of the dollar through financial sanctions.
Bloomberg estimates that the BRICS nations will contribute 32.1 percent of global growth, compared to the G7’s 29.9 percent, based on the most recent IMF figures.
According to the Bloomberg analysis, the G7 and BRICS nations each contributed equally to global economic growth in 2020. The Western-led bloc’s performance, however, has since declined. The G7 is expected to make up just 27.8% percent of the global economy by 2028, while BRICS will make up 35 percent.
“In total, 75 percent of global growth is expected to be concentrated in 20 countries and over half in the top four: China, India, the US, and Indonesia. While Group of Seven countries will comprise a smaller share, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France are seen among the top 10 contributors,” Bloomberg reports.
In addition, the west, especially Europe, is facing a growing energy crisis resulting from sanctions targeting Russian energy markets due to its invasion of Ukraine and the US sabotage of the pipeline. Germany has also begun to shut down its remaining .
In January, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the BRICS countries will discuss a common currency at the group’s upcoming summit this August.
Referring to the current US dollar-dominated international financial system, which exposes participant countries to the threat of economic sanctions imposed by Washington, Lavrov claimed that “Serious, self-respecting countries are well aware of what is at stake, see the incompetence of the ‘masters’ of the current international monetary and financial system, and want to create their own mechanisms to ensure sustainable development, which will be protected from outside dictates.”
On 13 April, Brazil’s President Ignacio Lula da Silva called on the member states of BRICS and countries that seek to become part of it to replace the dollar in foreign trade.
“Every night, I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar,” he said, adding the question, “Why can’t we do trade based on our own currencies.”
Modernisation is definitely not westernisation.
Qin said in a speech to the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, an event supported by the foreign ministry, that the , along with its has proved Chinese modernisation to be a "boost for peace" and a "force for justice".
"Modernisation is an inalienable right of all countries, but not the monopolised privilege of a few," Qin said.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
"Those who have developed should not tear down the bridge or block other countries' path to modernisation. And they should not suppress, contain, or stop other countries that choose a different path to modernisation."
He continued: "China has contributed more to global growth than all the G7 [Group of 7] countries combined.
"With over 1.4 billion people coming towards modernisation, a number larger than the combined population of all developed countries, China will give a much stronger impetus to the global economy."
Towards the end of the speech he warned that Beijing would not tolerate anything that threatened its .
"We will never back down in the face of any act that undermines China's sovereignty and security. Those who play with fire over Taiwan will eventually get themselves burned," he warned.
He said there had recently been some "absurd rhetoric" accusing China of disrupting stability across the Taiwan Strait and seeking to change the status quo through force or coercion.
"Such claims go against basic common sense on international relations and historical justice", Qin added, warning this could have "dangerous consequences".
Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
Recently it conducted a around the island after the meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which Beijing viewed as a major breach of its sovereignty.
Qin told the event, attended by foreign diplomats, business representatives and academics, that China must continue to open up and "deepen the convergence of its interests with the world", citing examples such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the China International Import Expo.
China will also do its "utmost to help relieve the debts of developing countries" and "endeavour to save international financial markets and currencies from the plight of speculation, manipulation, sanctions and pressure".
For years, China has been trying to in international trade to reduce dependency on the US dollar.
Qin also said Beijing "respects the modernisation path chosen by the people of other countries" but opposes "attempts to create ideological confrontation" and the building of barriers and "push for decoupling and separate supply chains".
"People can see full well who is exploiting and discarding the UN at its own will, who is disrupting the international order, and who is engaged in hegemonic, bullying, and high-handed practices," he said without mentioning specific countries throughout the speech.
Modernisation is not a privilege for a few countries, says Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang
- Qin tells forum in Shanghai that all countries have an ‘inalienable right’ to modernise and can choose their own paths
- He argues that ‘impartial stance’ in Ukraine and brokering deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia shows China’s modernisation is a ‘force for justice’
Qin said in a speech to the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, an event supported by the foreign ministry, that the , along with its has proved Chinese modernisation to be a "boost for peace" and a "force for justice".
"Modernisation is an inalienable right of all countries, but not the monopolised privilege of a few," Qin said.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
"Those who have developed should not tear down the bridge or block other countries' path to modernisation. And they should not suppress, contain, or stop other countries that choose a different path to modernisation."
He continued: "China has contributed more to global growth than all the G7 [Group of 7] countries combined.
"With over 1.4 billion people coming towards modernisation, a number larger than the combined population of all developed countries, China will give a much stronger impetus to the global economy."
Towards the end of the speech he warned that Beijing would not tolerate anything that threatened its .
"We will never back down in the face of any act that undermines China's sovereignty and security. Those who play with fire over Taiwan will eventually get themselves burned," he warned.
He said there had recently been some "absurd rhetoric" accusing China of disrupting stability across the Taiwan Strait and seeking to change the status quo through force or coercion.
"Such claims go against basic common sense on international relations and historical justice", Qin added, warning this could have "dangerous consequences".
Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
Recently it conducted a around the island after the meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which Beijing viewed as a major breach of its sovereignty.
Qin told the event, attended by foreign diplomats, business representatives and academics, that China must continue to open up and "deepen the convergence of its interests with the world", citing examples such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the China International Import Expo.
China will also do its "utmost to help relieve the debts of developing countries" and "endeavour to save international financial markets and currencies from the plight of speculation, manipulation, sanctions and pressure".
For years, China has been trying to in international trade to reduce dependency on the US dollar.
Qin also said Beijing "respects the modernisation path chosen by the people of other countries" but opposes "attempts to create ideological confrontation" and the building of barriers and "push for decoupling and separate supply chains".
"People can see full well who is exploiting and discarding the UN at its own will, who is disrupting the international order, and who is engaged in hegemonic, bullying, and high-handed practices," he said without mentioning specific countries throughout the speech.
That visit to Philippines is going to be a waste of time. Might as well as go to the US and meet with Philippines' boss directly