A Senator has advocated for the inclusion of Pakistan in BRICS, indicating Islamabad’s inclination towards aligning with the evolving global dynamics.
Published on June 19, 2024, by Rizwan Shehzad
Senator Mushahid Hussain has made history as the first Pakistani to deliver a speech at the International BRICS Forum, conducted in Vladivostok and facilitated by Russia’s United Russia Party.
As the Co-Chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and the leader of two Pakistani think tanks, Hussain proposed Pakistan’s entry into BRICS, referencing its aspiration to be a part of the emergent global order.
Launched in 2006, BRICS is a consortium of five significant evolving economies–Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Its primary objectives are to promote economic cooperation, advancement, and political discourse among its member nations. Initially known as BRIC, the collective expanded to include South Africa in 2010, thus rebranding as BRICS. The bloc increased its members in 2024, incorporating Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Individually, the bloc signifies nearly half of the global population and notably contributes to the global GDP.
Yesterday, Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian Prime Minister, disclosed that the nation intends to formally commence its accession procedure to the BRICS organization. Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kazakhstan – along with over 40 other countries – have expressed their interest in joining this forum. Turkey’s potential inclusion in the alliance has been recently endorsed by Russia, as indicated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
During his keynote address, Hussain criticized the diminishing authority of the Western global structure and underscored the pivotal role of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in conceiving a new international framework rooted in the UN Charter and the principle of peaceful coexistence.
He delineated three critical trends: modernizing international relations through equality and the rule of law, minimizing global military interactions to avoid Cold War frictions, and decentralizing the financial arrangement to diminish the US dollar’s political power.
Hussain also spoke highly of President Putin’s Eurasian Security proposal and President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative. Additionally, he condemned Western support for Israel, attributing it as a contributory factor to the Gaza conflict, which he referred to as a “crime against humanity.”
The forum witnessed delegations from 29 countries, emphasizing BRICS’ broad global influence, covering approximately half the world’s population and significant proportions of global GDP and energy resources.
Earlier, on February 18 of this year, Hussain, the Senate Defence Committee Chairman, had expressed optimism that the country would join BRICS with Russia’s aid–the current chair of this global grouping.
