Global South gains firmer foothold in G20 thanks to BRICS
In Vito Petrocelli’s opinion, the BRICS final document was much more extensive than that of the G20
The agenda of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), defined at the latest summit in Johannesburg, was reflected at the summit of the Group of Twenty (G20), within which the countries of the Global South have gained a firmer foothold, said Vito Petrocelli, former head of the Italian Senate’s Committee for External Relations and president of the Italy-BRICS Institute.
“The G20 summit showed that the attempt to isolate Russia failed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov [who represented the country at the summit] was given every opportunity to present both Russia’s positions and strategic projects. It should be noted that this is the merit of the Indian presidency, which ensured the work of the forum without pressure from Western countries,” Petrocelli said.
In his opinion, the BRICS final document was much more extensive than that of the G20.
“This is a clear sign that the BRICS group of countries, which is expanding, has a good future. It looks like the G20 lacks oxygen,” he continued.
“The countries that make up BRICS and the G20 have been speaking in chorus, urging greater attention to the Global South. Countries sharing the same interests are becoming increasingly united. Without the BRICS expansion this process would have been hampered within the G20,” the expert believes.
“BRICS has set the priorities for the Global South for 5-7 years to come. The G20 should reckon with this. The final document of the G20 summit differed significantly from those of the previous summits by focusing on the Global South.
This is a result of the ongoing consolidation processes,” he added.
Petrocelli is convinced that against this background, the Group of Seven (G7) is outdated and has no basis for existence, at least because only the United States, Germany and Japan remain among the world’s leading economies.
“The G7 countries do not represent the world’s largest economies: Italy is no longer in the top 10 and France is in 8th or 9th place. If the next summit (to be held in Italy) is another confirmation that the G7 pursues only NATO policies, it will be a global failure for the Western countries,” Petrocelli concluded.
