Brazil's Lula links BRICS to Bandung 1955 non-aligned principles

Rio de Janeiro (ANTARA) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva emphasized that the BRICS economic bloc serves as a concrete manifestation of the non-aligned vision echoed by countries at the Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955.

"BRICS is a manifestation of the Bandung non-aligned movement. BRICS carries the spirit of Bandung," Lula said in a plenary session of the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday, attended by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and other top BRICS officials.

Addressing the current geopolitical trend, he alluded to the apparent waning of multilateralism among countries around the globe.

"The United Nations is now 80 years old, but we are witnessing an unprecedented collapse of multilateralism," he pointed out.

Lula recalled that in 1945, the UN was founded as a symbol of the international community’s collective hope following the defeat of fascism, adding that some BRICS member states were among its founding nations.

“Ten years later, the Bandung Conference rejected the division of the world into zones of influence and advanced the fight for a multipolar international order,” he affirmed.

In his closing statement, Lula reiterated BRICS’ growing importance in shaping the global landscape.

"BRICS is the heir of the non-aligned movement," he remarked.

President Prabowo led the Indonesian delegation in the plenary session, which focused on peace, security, and global governance reform. He was the sixth leader to deliver remarks at the event.

Other BRICS representatives at the session included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese PM Li Qiang, Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly, Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates.