Few countries owe more to diplomacy than Brazil. Our foreign policy is a reflection of who we are as well as our place in the global community. A democratic, multicultural, multi-ethnic nation of the Global South, sharing borders with ten other South American countries with whom we have coexisted in peace for over 150 years. Our borders were defined by negotiation and peaceful settlement, not by wars of conquest.
This translates into the fundamental tenets of Brazil’s foreign policy: peaceful settlement of disputes, non-intervention, multilateralism, cooperation, sustainable development, regional integration, and the primacy of human rights and international law. By upholding these principles, we aim to play a constructive role in our region and on the global stage. Furthermore, Brazil is among the most biologically diverse countries in the world, it is a major player in global agriculture and food production and it has the cleanest energy matrix of the G20. We face, however, huge challenges in terms of inequality. Given all these factors, sustainable development is the key to all our public policies.
Under President Lula’s government, Brazilian foreign policy was repositioned to address today’s global challenges. The starting point was in our own region. Brazil promptly returned to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). Relations with Venezuela were normalized. The president’s first bilateral visits were to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, our strategic MERCOSUR partners. Regional integration was relaunched by a summit of South American heads of state held in Brasília.
Another important initiative was the Amazon Summit for Sustainable Development, held at the heart of the forest, in the city of Belém. Heads of state of member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization came together to adopt a joint plan of action to promote sustainable development in the region. The summit was also the first step in preparing the way for the COP30, which will also take place in Belém, in 2025.
Brazil has also revitalized relations with traditional partners such as the United States, China, India, Russia, South Africa, Germany and France, as well as with the Global South as a whole, with a renewed focus on Africa. It is interesting to note that these countries are largely the same as those identified in the first Emerging Middle Powers survey. This is in line with two other important features of our foreign policy: its universal stance and the use of variable-geometry coalitions to pursue national interests. In the case of China, our top trading partner since 2009, we have had a strategic partnership since 1993 with a comprehensive cooperation portfolio, ranging from joint satellite development and infrastructure connectivity to reindustrialization and energy efficiency. Not surprisingly, the Emerging Middle Powers survey shows that perceptions of our bilateral relationship are positive. Still, one of the key challenges with China is to diversify our trade to achieve a more balanced pattern of exchange.
On the multilateral front, Brazil’s positions on issues such as peace and stability in the Middle East, gender equality and women’s empowerment were also realigned with our traditional stance. One example is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Brazil reasserted its historical position based on international law and the two-state solution. This allowed the country’s diplomacy to play a constructive role in the negotiations for a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas during Brazil’s presidency of the United Nations Security Council in October 2023.
With regard to the BRICS, we see the group as a platform to coordinate political and economic cooperation focused on the needs of the countries of the Global South. The New Development Bank, for example, has so far approved around 96 infrastructure and sustainable development projects worth over US$32.8 billion. The BRICS is also key to reforming global governance and multilateral institutions. The group envisages a multipolar world order centred on the United Nations Charter and international law.
The expansion of the BRICS in 2023 was a major turning point. One of the criteria adopted for new members is the commitment to refrain from applying unilateral sanctions against any country. Another positive development is the renewed call to reform of the United Nations Security Council, including by reflecting the aspirations of Brazil, India and South Africa for a greater role in that body. Brazil is fully engaged in the workings of the newly expanded BRICS as the country will be taking over its presidency in 2025.
Brazil currently holds the presidency of IBSA, the dialogue forum it is a member of alongside India and South Africa, which is dedicated to South-South cooperation with an emphasis on least developed countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We also aim at reinforcing triangular cooperation with countries of the North. Even though the principles underpinning South-South and North-South cooperation may differ in many aspects, they can also be complementary and reinforce one another. Countries such as Germany, with its strong record of technical and financial cooperation, can play an important role in this process.
The G20 presidency is Brazil’s top foreign policy priority for 2024. Reducing inequality in all its forms is at the core of our agenda, which will be structured around three pillars. First is social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty. We want to respond to the setbacks in the 2030 Agenda, as increasing inequality, within and among nations, is a major driver of today’s global challenges. The focus will be on the articulation of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
The second pillar is the promotion of sustainable development in all its three dimensions (social, environmental and economic) as well as energy transitions. The G20 is in a critical position to ensure that we adopt more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions at the COP30, coupled with the adequate means of implementation. With that goal in mind, the Brazilian presidency has established a Task Force for the Global Mobilization Against Climate Change.
The third pillar is the reform of global governance. There is no question that global governance institutions need to be made more representative and effective. For instance, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank boards each had 12 seats for a total of 44 member states when they were established. Today, that ratio is 25 to 190. As for the United Nations, entire regions of the world are excluded from the Security Council’s central decision-making processes. Not a single African or Latin American and Caribbean country occupies one of its permanent seats.
In this respect, the Emerging Middle Powers survey reveals that the criticism levelled against the current configuration of the international system is not only a matter of concern for governments but also for domestic constituencies at large. The G20 is considered one of the best-equipped arrangements to deal with global challenges. Given that it is an informal body with no budget, personnel or secretariat, we can probably assume that this perception stems from its democratic decision-making process and diverse membership.
This is the sort of discussion where traditional partners such as Brazil and Germany can play a critical role. Naturally, our countries will not have the same position on every issue of the international agenda. Nevertheless, we can work together in addressing topics such as climate change, energy transition, trade (with the MERCOSUR-EU Association Agreement, for example) and global governance reform, to name but a few.
Sérgio Rodrigues dos Santos is the head of policy planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil.
This article earlier appeared in the Listening Beyond the Echo Chamber: Emerging Middle Powers Report.
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