Multipolarity

Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are meeting in Kazan, Russia, for the 16th BRICS summit, marking a pivotal moment for the bloc.

Over the years, the global political and economic system has undergone seismic transformations. International political order went from a bipolar configuration between 1945 and 1989 to a unipolar alignment between 1989 and 2008, before entering what we today call intricate multipolarity. This emerging multipolar era results from combining three dynamics. First, a broader distribution of wealth in the world; second, states’ inclination to assert themselves strategically and ideologically; and third, an increasingly transactional international system based on bilateral deals rather than global rules.

Arriving in Moscow on July 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Russia India‘s “all-weather friend” and praised President Vladimir Putin‘s leading role in strengthening bilateral relations over the past two decades.

I am delighted to welcome the organisers and participants of the traditional Forum of BRICS Sister Cities and Municipalities.