UN Headquarters building in New York. UN Secretary General to attend BRICS summit UN
The UN press service confirmed on Tuesday that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend this year’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian Federation.
BRICS is an association of nine countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia. Last year, the UN Secretary-General also attended the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
Answering questions from journalists at a briefing in New York, the UN deputy spokesman said that during the summit, António Guterres intends to meet with the leaders of the BRICS countries. “This is certainly one of the main reasons why he is going to the summit,” Farhan Haq added.
Answering another question, Farhan Haq recalled that the Secretary-General is going to Kazan as a standard practice for attending meetings of organizations with a large number of important member states, such as the G7 and G20.
“This meeting is of great importance for the work of the United Nations, since the BRICS countries represent about half of the world’s population,” the UN deputy spokesman continued. – With regard to Ukraine, the Secretary-General expects to visit there at his convenience, as discussed with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy in September during their meeting.”
Asked what exactly António Guterres plans to say during his meeting with Vladimir Putin, Farhan Haq said the UN chief will reiterate “his well-known positions” on the war in Ukraine and the terms of a just peace based on the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions. He will also speak about the need to restore safe navigation in the Black Sea, which is critical to global food and energy security, especially for the world’s most vulnerable countries.