World Economy
BRICS to erect fencing against West sanctions
The Kazan Declaration, adopted by the BRICS nations at their 16th summit under Russia’s chairmanship, expressed concern about the “disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions” on the world economy, international trade, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It stated that such measures undermine the UN Charter and the multilateral trading system, while also negatively impacting economic growth, energy, health, and food security.
According to sources, BRICS chair Russia proposed an economic “fencing” mechanism against unilateral Western sanctions to safeguard BRICS nations from economic disruption. Sources said there was no opposition to the proposal, and Russia has offered to prepare a concept note for consideration and adoption by all member countries at the next summit in Brazil in 2025. The note on economic fencing is likely to be circulated among BRICS nations “within a month or two,” sources indicated. This proposal has not been included in the Kazan Declaration.
The major BRICS countries disregarded U.S. sanctions against Russia following its attack on Ukraine and continued business with it. India continued buying Russian oil, while China-Russia trade remained unaffected. However, the removal of Russian banks from the SWIFT financial transaction system caused significant business disruption for the country. Now, BRICS countries plan to establish a mechanism to facilitate uninterrupted trade and commerce among members in the event of adversarial economic actions by a non-BRICS nation. BRICS members have already tasked their finance ministers and central bank governors with facilitating payment settlements in local currencies and developing additional payment instruments and platforms before the 2025 summit.
Jharkhand Elections
Venugopal meet fails to enthuse Congress leaders
Congress General Secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, travelled to Ranchi last week to unite and galvanise the discontented state unit of the party. Before arriving in the state capital, Venugopal sent a message expressing his desire to meet with all district and constituency observers, as well as other party leaders, on November 1. The state unit informed him that it would be challenging to gather all observers the day after Diwali. However, at Venugopal’s insistence, the meeting was convened on November 1.
Out of 182 invitees — which included state party office-bearers, screening committee and war room members, in addition to the observers — only around fifty turned up. Ordinary party workers were called in hastily to fill up the hall. According to sources, as the meeting commenced, state party leaders launched a no-holds-barred critique of the candidate selection process. Former state party president Rajesh Thakur stated that Rahul Gandhi’s intention to provide proper representation to all segments was disregarded by the selectors, noting that Scheduled Castes and minorities had not been given adequate representation.
Former state Youth Congress president Mani Shankar and several other leaders echoed Thakur’s concerns, raising the issue of poor candidate selection. Some leaders accused the party leadership of not being genuinely committed to winning the election. Senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad, present at the meeting as an observer, tried unsuccessfully to placate the state leaders. He noted that despite being a former AICC General Secretary in charge of Jharkhand, he had been assigned responsibility for just two assembly constituencies.
“You can understand how serious the party is about the elections,” he remarked. His comments drew laughter and were perceived as a critique of the state of Congress in Jharkhand. The meeting soon turned chaotic and ended abruptly. According to sources, an upset Venugopal left Ranchi without addressing a press conference that had been planned following the meeting.
Shahid Faridi
The writer is Resident Editor
TNIE, New Delhi.
Follow him on X @Shahid_Faridi