Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Hage Geingob recently expressed concerns about the prevailing influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the extended World Bank Group, which, he believes, at times disregards the autonomy of certain countries through their loan conditions and political prescriptions.
President Geingob made these remarks at the 15th Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Summit, which recently concluded in Johannesburg, South Africa. The president was among the few African leaders invited to participate in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues, at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
During these dialogues, he explained that he believes the dominance of the Bretton Woods financial institutions – consisting of the IMF and the extended World Bank Group – has fostered a growing interest among many nations for a counterbalance, such as the BRICS bloc.
“BRICS offers that alternative option by assuring likeminded countries an opportunity to participate and do business in an international economic and financial system, which is based on universally recognised international principles and values such as non-interference in domestic affairs, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” he said.
He stressed that Namibia highly values these principles as essential prerequisites to build a shared, peaceful, and prosperous global community, where all countries – big or small – interact as sovereigns on equal footing, without being excluded or subjected to forceful impositions of a particular value system.
“The attendance of so many African nations today under the BRICS-Africa Outreach initiative is testimony to the strong desire and commitment of Your Excellencies, to the expansion of BRICS, through greater African and South- South participation and cooperation in global economic and financial affairs,” the president added.
President Geingob also shared hopes that the BRICS Bloc will remain united, contrasting it with the division observed within the United Nations (UN). In this context, he expressed his hope for future BRICS Plus Dialogues to elaborate on the essential mechanisms that an expanded BRICS Plus would employ, ensuring the collective benefit of all its members.
“We hope that BRICS will not be divided like the United Nations, which has a Security Council for the few with veto powers and the General Assembly for the majority of member States who don’t enjoy the same privilege of a veto. We believe that an important global grouping of nations such as BRICS, which is born from the collective desire of the countries from the South to make the international order more just and equitable, and favourable to peace and development for all, will break down the barriers of division, confrontation and conflicts,” President Geingob said.
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