During the 14th BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting, attended by Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, the UAE renewed the call for enhanced trade cooperation among member nations and firm opposition to stimulate the flow goods and services around the world.

It is the first time the UAE has participated in a BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting since its joining the group in August 2023.

Dr Al Zeyoudi signed a Joint Communique with the participating ministers to reaffirm the commitment to comprehensive cooperation among member countries in several key areas of common interest, including strengthening their cooperation in the multilateral trading system, supporting Joint value chains; facilitating agricultural trade; promoting special economic zones as engines of cooperation, fostering e-commerce while protecting consumer rights; supporting MSMEs through technology and export cooperation.

The communique underscored BRICS’ commitment to multilateralism and collaboration in addressing global trade challenges. The ministers, who represented Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE, also agreed to establish an informal consultative framework to advance a global dialogue on the WTO and WTO-related issues.

The ministers affirmed the importance of the integration of digital technologies in global trade and the promotion of smart solutions like e-certification and electronic bills of lading.The communique also underscored how investment and collaboration are key toward the enhancement of intra- BRICS global value chains (GVCs), in addition to advancing the potential of BRICS members’ special economic zones, both of which would help to increase competitiveness in new industries, for example in renewable energy.

Dr Al Zeyoudi welcomed the Joint Communique as an important step in affirming the impact of trade on economic development and growth.

“The UAE continues to be a strong advocate for open, rules-based trade, and we will always seek to work with nations and networks that enable us to facilitate the movement of goods, services and capital around the world. The BRICS is an exciting and agile community of like-minded countries, and the 14th Trade Ministers Meeting underlined a collective vision for growth, one based on collaboration and innovation. By building on long-established trade frameworks, we believe we can open up new means of exchange that meet the needs of today’s economy. The declarations on e-commerce, which will increase trade between member nations and enhance consumer confidence, are a clear example of our unity of purpose that can set a global example,” said he at the BRICS group.

Dr Al Zeyoudi emphasised that the UAE, as a BRICS member, is committed to enhancing economic cooperation and partnerships with fellow member states. This effort aims to strengthen the UAE’s position as a major global hub and multilateral partner, while also diversifying strategic alliances. Joining BRICS aligns with the UAE’s priority of fostering economic prosperity and maintaining balanced strategic and economic relations, including collaboration with international organisations, in our ever-evolving global landscape.In addition to the Joint Communique, the 14th Trade Ministers Meeting adopted a BRICS Cooperation Framework on Special Economic Zones, an agreement aimed at harnessing the potential of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in BRICS countries and utilising them as established mechanisms to enhance trade and industrial cooperation.

The meeting has proposed the establishment of a forum for cooperation on SEZs in member countries to enhance cooperation. The Ministers Meeting in Moscow is one of the key events in the build-up to the BRICS Summit, which takes place in Kazan, Russia in October 2024.

On Thursday, a delegation from the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), led by Deputy Chairman Obaid Rashid Al Hassan Al Shamsi, participated in the BRICS Group heads of emergency agencies meeting in Kazan, Russia.

The meeting addressed common strategies and challenges in emergency and crisis management, as well as shared experiences and expertise in the field.

Al Shamsi delivered NCEMA’s speech, emphasising that the UAE’s participation in the BRICS Group reflects its strong commitment to multilateral cooperation and achieving international priorities.

He highlighted the UAE’s development of a national strategy aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the Sendai Framework and SDGs 2015-2030, which includes customised policies for various demographic groups.

He added that the UAE actively participates in international forums and organisations, engages in constructive dialogue through platforms representing developing and emerging economies, and supports many countries globally.

Al Shamsi concluded by stressing the importance of investing in disaster risk management and shifting from disaster response to disaster prevention by fostering a culture of risk reduction and focusing on prevention programmes, particularly in vulnerable areas, noting the success of the UAE’s early warning systems established in 2017.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the delegation witnessed the signing of the Kazan Declaration, which reflects agreement on joint policies to confront emergencies and crises, and which stressed the importance of strengthening the state’s role in the BRICS Group in terms of emergencies, crises and disasters.

In addition to organising official visits to both the Russian Federation and Belarus to exchange experiences and visit universities and training centres to benefit from specialised training in the two countries.

The creation of a BRICS digital payment platform, BRICS Bridge, will help increase mutual trade between the member countries, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.

“The Russian Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Russia together with BRICS partners are working on the BRICS leaders’ report on now to upgrade the international forex and financial system. It will contain a number of initiatives and recommendations. Consideration of this report may result in creating a BRICS multilateral digital payment platform (BRICS Bridge), which will help bridge the gap between the financial markets of the BRICS member countries and increase mutual trade,” Matviyenko said at the BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday.

Work on an independent payment system, “immune to political pressure, abuse and external sanctions interference”, is ongoing as a follow-up to the decisions adopted at last year’s BRICS summit in South Africa, she said as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax.

If this system is created, it may use digital currencies of the BRICS central banks, and their exchange rate will be tied to the value of national currencies, Matviyenko said.

“In addition, this digital settlement and payment platform will be decentralised, that said, no participants will be able to restrict the activities of others. If the Russian-proposed initiative is approved, the BRICS countries will have to conduct coordinated legislative work to put a national digital currency into circulation and use it in cross-border settlements,” she said.