Why BRICS summit esteems the participation of Eritrea’s Afwerki

Today marks the second day of the 15th BRICS Summit being held in South Africa. This summit brings together leaders from the world’s fastest-growing economies, most resource-rich nations, and most populous continents. Additionally, several leaders from Africa have been invited to partake in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogues, which are integral components of this Summit. The majority of these leaders are already in South Africa.

Undoubtedly, the spotlight will be on the leaders of the current five BRICS member countries: China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin (who is participating virtually and is represented on-site by Foreign Minister Lavrov), India’s Modi, Brazil’s Lula da Silva, and South Africa’s Ramaphosa (the event’s host). Each of these leaders embodies the aspirations, visions, and hopes of their respective nations as participants in the BRICS alliance. Citizens from their home countries will closely follow the proceedings.

Yet, while much attention will be directed toward these leaders, an even greater focus will be placed on the African heads of state. Although BRICS is a global alliance, it shares a keen interest in fostering relationships with African nations and is likely to accept requests for membership from more African countries in pursuit of that objective. The African continent’s enduring wealth of natural resources, and demographic advantages—including the world’s youngest population—offering the immeasurable human potential for propelling industrial growth and technological advancement, renders the continent highly sought after.

Likewise, BRICS offers African leaders a remarkable opportunity to engage as equals in the emerging multipolar world. In this context, Africans are understandably invested in the proceedings in South Africa, closely monitoring the events of the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogues.

However, among African presidents invited to the BRICS summit, one stands out. His every utterance will be eagerly dissected by the global media, and every detail of his meetings will be sought after. That man is President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea. His reception at the OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa sparked a media frenzy and was arguably the most widely publicized among the visiting African heads of state.

Why is this the case? Why is the global media paying this much interest in him during the BRICS summit, especially considering that Eritrea hasn’t even formally applied for BRICS membership?

Esteemed by leaders of key BRICS founder countries

President Isaias, more than his African peers, commands the respect of the most prominent founding countries of BRICS. China and Russia have shown an increased interest in the Eritrean leader in recent years, and only recently hosted him to monumental state visits.

First, he visited China where he was hosted with fanfare, including a red carpet, a guard of honor military procession, and a 21-gun salute. He was also given an exclusive working tour of China’s highly protected economic and military establishments, an opportunity seldom extended to foreign leaders, testifying to Isaias’ high standing in the eyes of his Chinese counterpart.

This special treatment can be attributed to President Isaias and Eritrea’s traditional ties with China, dating back to 1967 when Isaias received military training there, which he would use in Eritrea’s 30-year fight for independence. However, it is Eritrea’s long-standing commitment to an independent foreign policy that has earned the highest admiration from China’s Xi for the Eritrean leader.

President Isaias’ visit to China was followed by another high-level working visit to Russia a few days later. Once again, this longest-serving and most consistent anti-imperialist African alive was hosted by President Putin, and like in China, was granted rare access to Russia’s economic, military, and cultural establishments.

Of course, the relationship between Russia and Eritrea dates back decades, justifying the fanfare and respect with which Putin hosted him. However, it is President Isaias’s unwavering commitment to multipolarity that truly captured Putin’s imagination. The fact that this visit coincided with Russia’s ongoing pushback against the West’s colonial and conquest-driven tendencies further underscored President Isaias’s significance.

Thus, with BRICS premising its emergence on such policies of independence, self-reliant growth, and mutual benefits, Isaias is perhaps the only African leader with the moral high ground on such matters. Also, it is not lost on Xi and Putin that Isaias has transformed Eritrea into perhaps the only truly independent country in Africa. So, BRICS will be eager for his novel insights and experience, going forward, and the international media will be eager to hear his take during the dialogues.

Originator of BRICS’s ideological foundation

President Isaias has been lauded as a pioneer of multipolarity, even preceding Russia’s joint endeavors which gained prominence in the last 20 months. According to a Geopolitical analyst, President Isaias:

“presciently foresaw long ago that the global systemic transition would inevitably move towards multipolarity from its prior state of unipolarity…”

Andrew Korybko (Geo-Political analyst)

Indeed, he foresaw it from the outset of his country’s 30-year struggle for independence and in the subsequent years following its successful culmination and took all the necessary preparations for effective resistance. Upon gaining statehood, Eritrea right away set in motion an integrated and comprehensive strategy of economic, political, and military resistance against global hegemons and their policies of subjugation, domination, encirclement, and containment. This stance led to reproach from the West, defamation by Western media as a ‘rogue state’, and indeed, unilateral sanctions from Western countries starting from 2009.

Nonetheless, President Isaias’s resistance and pursuit of a world order where justice and mutual respect prevail remained unwavering. He became the most outspoken ideologue of multipolarity and international relations, including the policy foundations based on which these could be realized. With hindsight, and considering the turn of events in recent years, leading geopolitical analysts now agree that:

President Afwerki was right about International Relations all along, and he’s finally seeing his vision of a fairer world order come to fruition…

BRICS is undoubtedly an outcome of Isaias’ efforts in the realms of multipolarism. One can rightly argue that, despite not being a formal founding member, President Isaias is the originator and promulgator of the ideological principles on which BRICS is anchored today.

Africa’s Herald of self-reliance aspirations esteemed by BRICS

In 1997, President Isaias published a seminal paper in the Forum for Applied Research & Public Policy titled “Foreign aid works when it is self-limiting.” In that paper, President Afwerki argues that long-term dependency on foreign aid can have negative consequences, and suggests that aid programs should instead focus on empowering recipient countries to become self-reliant and develop sustainable economic systems.

His economic policies have since based on the quest to build a self-reliant country, making him Africa’s unrivaled herald of self-reliance aspirations, based on which he has since earned respect from the BRICS member countries. This is more so because his resolute commitment to fostering self-sufficiency and independence for Eritreans and Africa as a continent resonates strongly with the alliance’s principles for member countries. As a steadfast advocate for self-reliance, President Isaias, therefore, embodies the very spirit that BRICS seeks to uphold, making him a revered proponent of a transformative agenda on the global stage.

Again, the world will be all ears on President Isaias’s views regarding how BRICS countries can evolve as self-reliant cooperating members. No wonder, the current theme of the summit is around Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism, all of which President Isaias has embodied and impressed on Eritrea’s development psyche.

Reliable Africa partner

In a continent where many African leaders often find themselves succumbing to Western pressures and displaying uncertain positions, President Isaias of Eritrea emerges as a steadfast and resolute figure. He has managed to withstand and endure Western sanctions for decades, consistently refusing to bend to the coercive efforts of hegemonic foreign powers. In stark contrast to his African counterparts, who at times exhibit ambivalence, Afwerki’s unswerving dedication to his principles remains remarkably notable.

It comes as no surprise that both China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin, integral members of the BRICS alliance, consider him a valuable partner. They undoubtedly recognize the potential to harness his convictions to guide and fortify the new generation of resilient African leaders, particularly those emerging from West Africa.

Amidst the ideals and enthusiasm embodied by leaders like President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso, the upcoming years will undoubtedly pose challenges, as the West seeks to subject them to various forms of pressure to compromise the very ideals their people support. This mirrors the pressures that President Isaias faced upon Eritrea attaining independence. If such pressures were to take root, they could reverse the strides made in multilateral development within Africa, consequently impacting the BRICS initiative.