Rio de Janeiro (People's Daily) - "It is important for the BRICS countries to emphasize the inseparability of the peace and development agendas," Marta Fernández, Director of the BRICS Policy Center (BPC) in Brazil, said in an interview with the People's Daily. She noted that Brazil and China, as BRICS countries, have played an essential role in working with other developing countries to reduce poverty and hunger, promote inclusive and sustainable development, and maintain world peace.

Fernández (first on the right) at a conference held by BPC. (Photo by Shi Yuanhao)

Fernández stated that the role of the New Development Bank (NDB) should be highlighted in promoting global development. 

"The financing of the NDB is especially targeted at emerging economies, and the financing is attractive to developing countries, since it does not impose the same rigid conditions as traditional financial institutions," said Fernández, who is also a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). She added that one of the the central areas the NDB focuses on is precisely the socio-environmental area, including infrastructure construction, energy transformation and mitigation and adaptation to climate change, which are conducive to promoting sustainable development in the Global South.

"Peace is a necessary condition for development," Fernández believes, stating that the Global South countries represented by Brazil and China are important players in the world peace process. 

"At the 79th UN General Assembly, the 'Friends for Peace' group on the Ukrainian crisis was set up and supported by more than a dozen Global South countries," the director said, emphasizing that Brazil and China can play a strategic role in global governance in the field of international peace and security, especially in times of growing geopolitical tensions and polarization. 

"In recent decades, the effectiveness and performance of some global entities have been challenged, such as the Global South's defense of the appreciation of diversity," Fernández said, referring to the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank, among others. 

The professor noted that in the urgent need for reform of international institutions, the BRICS countries, represented by Brazil and China, advocate an active stance of coexistence, allowing countries of the Global South to have a voice and space in global governance where they are underrepresented. In addition, entering new countries into BRICS means greater substantial material resources and political power. Also, it allows more developing countries to participate in the decision-making process of global governance.

"I believe that the Kazan Summit will provide a major boost to the process of de-dollarization of the global economy," Fernández said, adding that facts show that the hegemonic status of the US dollar and the sanctions based on it have brought a strong sense of insecurity to some developing countries. Thus, they hope to adopt more diversified trading methods, and this summit will continue to explore alternative financial instruments and payment systems. 

"These demands signal the defense of a multipolar order, where different countries have the right to choose their currencies, as well as their development and modernization models," stressed the director. 

"The relations between Brazil and China, which celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, offer the world signs of the possibility of an intercultural dialogue that crosses oceans and connects hemispheres," Fernández said. 

She and the BPC are both active practitioners of this dialogue: she has just finished her trip to China and attended the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Cooperation and Development Conference in Beijing. 

In addition, the BPC is affiliated with PUC-Rio and has maintained long-term dialogue and cooperation with the Confucius Institute of the university, promoting mutual visits between students and researchers from the two countries and actively promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Brazil. 

Fernández believes that Brazil and China have similar positions on many international issues and have broad space for cooperation under multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS and G20. 

"Brazil, with its history of reducing hunger through policies such as 'Zero Hunger' and 'Family Allowance,' has vast experience to share, and so does China," said the professor, adding that the two sides can further promote experience sharing as well as the implementation of relevant agendas in multilateral cooperation platforms.