BRICS summit opens in Brazil overshadowed by Trump’s tariff policies, Middle East tensions

Brazil is playing host to a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies Sunday and Monday during which pressing topics like Israel's attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump are expected to be handled with caution.

- AGENCY

Analysts and diplomats have said the lack of cohesion in an enlarged BRICS, which doubled in size last year, may affect its ability to become another pole in world affairs. They also see the summit's moderate agenda as an attempt by member countries to stay off Trump's radar.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has some of his priorities, such as debates on artificial intelligence and climate change, front and centre for the talks with key leaders not in attendance.

Lula said in his speech on Sunday that "we are witnessing the unparalled collapse of multilateralism" and that the meeting is taking place "in the most adverse global scenario" of the four times Brazil has hosted it.

He called for the group to promote peace and mediate conflicts.

"If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to the BRICS to contribute to its renovation," Lula said at the opening of the summit.

China's President Xi Jinping did not attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country's leader in 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make an appearance via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid travelling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi are also absent from the gathering in Rio de Janeiro.

Three joint statements expected