Russia
Source: mid.ru

On July 24, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan), Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Abbas Araghchi.

The heads of the foreign policy agencies discussed the current escalation in the Persian Gulf and the precarious prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The Russian side emphasised the importance of the swift conclusion of sustainable agreements on a cessation of hostilities in the interests of restoring stability, security, and unimpeded navigation in the region.

The ministers also addressed a number of key issues on the bilateral agenda.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

On July 24, in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan), on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov.

The two foreign ministers discussed a number of key issues concerning bilateral relations. They exchanged views on a range of matters pertaining to the regional and international agendas.

The talks were held in a cordial and warm atmosphere. Both sides reiterated their commitment to the further strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance between Russia and Uzbekistan.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

Mr Wang Yi,

Dear friend,

We are always happy to welcome our friends – friends with whom we discuss serious matters, and with whom it is simply a pleasure to interact on a personal level.

We held intensive talks in Beijing in April of this year, which served as a key stage in preparations for President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the People’s Republic of China in May. That visit was extremely productive and elevated our relations to a qualitatively new level. Despite the obstacles imposed by our Western colleagues, our trade and economic ties are on the rise. In the first half of 2026, overall trade increased by more than 25 percent, and it looks as though the year will end with yet another record.
The diplomacy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the driving force behind Russian-Chinese relations. By our estimates, they have already met approximately fifty times – both during bilateral visits and on the sidelines of various international events. This year, too, will feature numerous occasions providing platforms for further contacts between our leaders.

Undoubtedly, today’s achievements are underpinned by the solid foundation of the Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation. We recently marked its 25th anniversary, and we once again congratulate everyone on that milestone.

The SCO is also celebrating a quarter century of its existence. It is no exaggeration to say that Moscow and Beijing are the driving force behind this organisation. Over the past 25 years, the SCO has grown into a very solid club of like-minded partners, encompassing almost half the world’s population and a third of global gross domestic product.

Our countries were among the founders and initiators of the BRICS group, which is also expanding. Interest in both the BRICS group and the SCO continues to grow among many countries around the world.

I would like to congratulate our Chinese friends on the success of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which recently concluded in Shanghai, and on the establishment of a new international organisation – the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation. Our representative delegation took part in the event and acted as a co-founder of this new international structure.

We continue to coordinate our actions closely at the UN, including its Security Council, as well as within APEC, the G20, at ASEAN events, and in other multilateral forums.

We will maintain this foreign policy coordination going forward. Today is a good opportunity to discuss the challenges facing us, and I am confident that this will be another productive and useful conversation.

China
Source: www.globaltimes.cn

China and India should bear the well-being of humanity in mind, demonstrate a sense of responsibility as major countries, consolidate the positive momentum in bilateral relations, and strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Wednesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Wang called on the two countries to make positive contributions to advancing multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations.

Wang said China stands ready to work with India to implement the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, maintain close high-level exchanges, strengthen cooperation in areas including economy and trade, media, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and properly handle sensitive issues.

He also called on the two sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation, promote the growth of the greater BRICS cooperation mechanism, and better represent and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

China will continue to support India in hosting a successful BRICS summit this year, Wang added.

For his part, Jaishankar said that India's positions on issues concerning Taiwan and Xizang have not changed, and India respects China's sovereignty. He added that India has consistently advanced a positive and cooperative bilateral relationship with a forward-looking approach.

Russia
Source: bricscompetition.org

Review №24 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
 

• Policy Articles in the People's Daily
• EC Fines AliExpress €550 Million for DSA Violations
• Hotel Association Plans Antitrust Lawsuit Against Ctrip
• CNKI Removes AI-Authored Academic Papers
• Support Program for Sole Proprietors on Online Platforms
• Apple to Integrate Qwen AI Tools
• M&A Merger Review Statistics for the First Half of 2026
• WAIC Highlights: Launch of WAICO and a Global AI Initiative
• Overseas Antitrust Series: Turkey

Policy Articles in the People's Daily

On July 16 and 17, People's Daily, China's leading official newspaper, published two flagship policy articles on market regulation.

The first article, authored by SAMR Director Luo Wen, reviews the government's efforts to combat "involutionary" competition (neijuan). It argues that curbing such destructive competition is an essential prerequisite for fully unleashing the vitality of market participants. According to the article, involutionary practices are becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect, including shifting costs onto other participants in the supply chain, reducing costs at the expense of product quality, charging hidden fees, manipulating online traffic, and using algorithmic ranking to distort competition. The article stresses the importance of creating room for businesses that operate with integrity, produce high-quality products, and pursue innovation, while ensuring that all market participants can compete on a fair and orderly basis.

The second article highlights the timeliness of the proposed amendments to China's E-Commerce Law. It notes that e-commerce platforms have become deeply integrated into virtually every aspect of production and daily life, making their impact on the economy and society increasingly significant. As a result, platforms should assume responsibilities commensurate with their market position and functions—not only by regulating their own business practices but also by fulfilling their obligations to govern platform participants and protect their lawful rights and interests. The article was authored by Liu Xiaochun, Director of the Internet Law Research Center at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Sources: People's Daily 1, People's Daily 2

EC Fines AliExpress €550 Million for DSA Violations

The European Commission (EC) has fined AliExpress €550 million for breaching its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). According to the Commission, the company failed to conduct adequate risk assessments, allowing illegal, unsafe, and counterfeit products—including uncertified toys and potentially harmful cosmetics—to remain available on the platform. These products were not only accessible for extended periods but were also repeatedly recommended and promoted to consumers.

The amount of the fine reflects the nature of the infringements, their duration, and the scale of the resulting harm. AliExpress has until October 20, 2026, to submit a compliance plan to the Commission outlining the measures it will take to remedy the violations.

AliExpress has rejected the Commission's decision, arguing that the fine is disproportionate to its efforts to comply with the DSA.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also criticized the decision, stating that China firmly opposes the European Commission's use of platform regulation as a pretext for creating digital barriers and adopting discriminatory measures to restrict and suppress the normal operations of Chinese e-commerce companies in Europe.

Sources: WeChat 1, WeChat 2, European Commission

Hotel Association Plans Antitrust Lawsuit Against Ctrip

The Yunnan Province Guesthouse Owners Association (southwestern China) has commented on the ongoing antitrust investigation into travel services platform Ctrip. Association Chairman He Shuangquan stated that the organization is considering filing a class-action antitrust lawsuit against Ctrip once the regulator publishes its final decision.

According to He, the Association has already collected more than 100 complaints, supplier reports, and other pieces of evidence relating to Ctrip's alleged anticompetitive conduct. The complaints primarily concern the platform's alleged exclusivity requirements imposed on accommodation providers and its excessive commission fees.

He also noted that the Association's attempts to resolve these issues directly with Ctrip had been unsuccessful. According to him, the company has consistently denied engaging in anticompetitive practices, arguing instead that the disputes stem from misunderstandings of its platform rules.

As previously reported, on January 14 this year, SAMR launched an investigation into Ctrip on suspicion of abusing its dominant market position and engaging in anticompetitive practices.

Source: WeChat

CNKI Removes AI-Authored Academic Papers

CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), China's leading academic publishing platform, has removed papers listing artificial intelligence as an author. In a public statement, the platform explained that AI is neither a subject of civil law nor a legal person with legal capacity; rather, it is merely a research support tool. Accordingly, copyright in AI-generated content should belong to researchers who have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the work.

The statement further argues that attributing authorship to AI blurs the lines of responsibility for the accuracy of content, logical reasoning, and academic integrity. As a result, CNKI no longer accepts submissions that list AI tools as authors. All authors must be natural persons, legal entities, or organizations, while the use of AI should instead be disclosed in the "Research Methods" or "Acknowledgements" section to ensure transparency and traceability.

Source: Global Times

Support Program for Sole Proprietors on Online Platforms

SAMR has launched a five-pronged initiative to support the development of sole proprietors operating on online platforms. The program aims to achieve five key objectives by the end of 2027:

1. providing targeted support for new online merchants;
2. improving sole proprietors' access to platform resources;
3. expanding policy and regulatory outreach, including compliance training to enhance merchants' market competitiveness;
4. promoting digital transformation by encouraging platforms to provide simple and affordable digital business management tools that reduce the operational burden on sole proprietors;
5. leveraging local innovation and business support initiatives while expanding access to national and local business infrastructure.

Sources: SAMR 1, SAMR 2, WeChat

Apple to Integrate Qwen AI Tools

Apple has successfully registered its Apple Intelligence platform for use in China, paving the way for the integration of Qwen, the large language model developed by Alibaba. Apple users in China will be able to access Qwen's AI capabilities, including text and image recognition, content generation, and other intelligent features.

The partnership was first confirmed publicly in February 2025 by Alibaba Co-founder and Chairman Joseph Tsai. He noted that Apple had been highly selective and had held discussions with numerous Chinese companies before ultimately choosing Alibaba as its AI partner.
Source: WeChat

M&A Merger Review Statistics for the First Half of 2026

SAMR has released its merger control statistics for the first half of 2026, reporting that it reviewed 298 merger and acquisition (economic concentration) filings during the period. Of these, 283 transactions were unconditionally approved, 12 applications were withdrawn by the notifying parties, two were cleared subject to remedies, and one transaction was prohibited.

The most active sectors for M&A activity were manufacturing, water supply, electricity, gas and heating utilities, transportation, financial services, and real estate. SAMR also published a breakdown of the reviewed transactions by the nationality of the participating companies, ownership structure, and type of economic concentration.

Source: SAMR

WAIC Highlights: Launch of WAICO and a Global AI Initiative

On the eve of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), representatives of 29 countries, including Russia, signed the Agreement on the Establishment of the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The signing ceremony was presided over by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Russia was represented by Maksut Shadaev, Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media.
WAICO aims to promote international cooperation and global governance in artificial intelligence while fostering the healthy, orderly, secure, fair, and inclusive development of AI for the benefit of humanity. The organization's headquarters will be located in Shanghai.

During the conference, China also unveiled the Global Initiative on Cooperation for Trusted, Interoperable, and Shared AI Agents, which consists of ten key commitments:

1. strengthening research and development to foster collaborative innovation;
2. promoting mutual recognition of standards and reducing ecosystem barriers;
3. jointly developing infrastructure and improving connectivity;
4. accelerating the deployment of AI agents and expanding real-world application scenarios;
5. promoting industrial cooperation and a thriving global AI ecosystem;
6. establishing a robust security framework and upholding ethical principles;
7. facilitating data flows while strengthening data protection;
8. expanding resource sharing and narrowing the AI capability gap;
9. promoting an inclusive governance culture that respects diversity;
10. improving digital literacy and delivering mutually beneficial outcomes.

Sources: China Foreign Ministry, Russia Foreign Ministry, WeChat

Overseas Antitrust Series: Turkey

In 2026, SAMR launched a series of infographics introducing the antitrust laws and competition enforcement systems of major foreign jurisdictions. The latest publication focuses on Turkey, outlining the country's principal competition laws, merger notification thresholds, and key categories of anticompetitive conduct.

Previous editions of the series covered the antitrust regimes of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Italy, Germany, Australia, Chile, France, and Mexico.
Source: WeChat

South Africa
Source: theafrican.co.za

BRICS Should Resist Becoming a Western-style Bloc

Heads of State and Government from BRICS Member Countries pose for a family photo at the XVII BRICS Summit at the Museum of Modern Arts held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 7, 2025. BRICS can move towards global governance, by creating forms of cooperation that reflect the interests of the global majority and not by copying the institutions of Western dominance, says the writer.
Image: GCIS

Timofey Bordachev

As BRICS adjusts to its expansion in 2024 and 2025, it faces two linked questions. How can the group stabilise itself internally, and how can it assume a more important role in global governance?

The answer shouldn’t be to imitate existing institutions because BRICS will only succeed if it identifies common objectives that matter to its members and that are also relevant to the wider international community. No credible system of global governance can now be imposed by a small group of powerful states. It must reflect the interests of the international majority.

For BRICS, the most promising basis for such a role lies in sustainable development. The United Nations has pursued this objective for decades, but the continued dominance of Western states in many global institutions has prevented those goals from being implemented fairly, so BRICS could offer a different model.

Given that most international organisations are the legal expression of a particular balance of power, the most absurd course would be to reproduce one of the structures created by powers whose global influence was built on military superiority. Such organisations formalise either the relationship among their members or their collective intentions towards the rest of the world. Some were created after wars, while others were designed to coordinate the policies of a narrow group of states.

BRICS is different in that it wasn’t established to solidify the outcome of a military conflict, institutionalise the relative strength of its members or organise a bloc against outside powers, and it’s not based on a common military hierarchy and doesn’t seek to impose a single foreign policy.

For that reason, any attempt to strengthen BRICS must begin with a more basic question about what the shared objectives of its members are, and how those objectives can connect their domestic priorities with their international ambitions. 
Every successful form of international cooperation serves the fundamental interests of its participants. For example, European integration, now represented by the European Union, emerged from the conditions created by the Second World War, where the major Western continental powers had suffered devastating defeat or destruction.

Through NATO, they surrendered much of their independent military role to the United States, while European integration then helped their political elites consolidate this new strategic position and strengthen their economic base by combining markets.

These internal objectives later allowed the Western European states to exercise an international influence far greater than the individual geopolitical weight of Germany, France, Italy or their smaller allies would otherwise have permitted.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was created for a different purpose as its founders sought to prevent conflicts among newly independent states and reduce damaging competition between them. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation also began with the limited but important task of stabilising the inner part of Greater Eurasia in an area directly affecting the security of Russia and China.

In each case, the organisation was most effective when pursuing the purpose for which it had originally been created, but the limits are equally clear. The European Union failed in its attempts to become a genuine political union, and ASEAN has struggled to influence the domestic political development of its members or formulate a common response to the most important strategic challenge in Asia, namely the confrontation between China and the United States.
Meanwhile, the SCO has so far achieved little beyond its original regional responsibilities.

Organisations created to formulate a common external policy are often more politically effective. The G7 is one example. It cannot be seen as just an expression of American leadership. It is an effective organ through which the collective West coordinates its policies towards the rest of humanity.

Its emergence in the 1970s was no accident. Western dominance was beginning to face structural limits, while the Soviet-led bloc was showing the first signs of its later crisis. The G7 allowed the leading Western powers to coordinate both defensive and offensive policies. In earlier centuries, historians might have described such a body as the embryo of a world government.

That position is no longer sustainable, given that China’s economic rise, Russia’s resurgence and the broader redistribution of global power have reduced the G7’s ability to dictate the international order, while at the same time its need for internal discipline has increased.

No serious observer can now regard the G7 as an institution of global governance, but it remains, however, an effective military and economic headquarters for the West, from which campaigns against the rest of the world can be organised.
BRICS shouldn’t seek to become a rival version of the same structure, because by its nature, BRICS rejects the permanent division of the world into opposing camps, and it can’t strengthen itself by becoming a closed club. Such a move would contradict its original political purpose and wouldn’t serve the interests of its members.

NATO offers another warning. The alliance combines internal and external functions. Internally, it helps preserve the existing political order in Europe, whereas externally it maintains the cohesion of the Western military bloc.

Nevertheless, it can’t become an institution of global governance and attempts to present NATO as a global policeman were only credible during the brief period of Western euphoria after the Cold War or during the early 2000s, when Washington’s allies were trying to restrain American unilateralism.

BRICS must follow a different path. Its next stage should combine the domestic development goals of its members with practical initiatives that can benefit the wider international community. Sustainable development provides the most obvious foundation.

The BRICS countries differ greatly in size, wealth, political systems and levels of development. Yet all are united by the need to achieve economic growth, technological modernisation, social stability and greater national sovereignty, and these priorities are familiar throughout the global majority.

The group could therefore develop mechanisms for financing infrastructure, supporting industrialisation, improving food and energy security, expanding access to technology and reducing dependence on Western-controlled financial institutions, and such policies wouldn’t require BRICS to become a supranational organisation or impose common political values on its members.

Nor would they require the creation of a military bloc; they would instead demonstrate that international cooperation can produce practical results without political tutelage from the West.

This would also make BRICS more attractive to countries outside the group, given that many states are not looking for a new ideological centre or another system of discipline but for investment, technology, infrastructure, and greater freedom in choosing their own path of development.

A joint BRICS initiative in West Africa could provide a useful starting point, as few regions have been exploited more extensively by Western powers, and few have received less in return. A serious program focused on infrastructure, energy, agriculture, education, and industrial capacity would show what BRICS can offer in practice.

Its success would depend on whether roads were built, electricity supplied, food production increased, and national economies made more resilient and not rhetoric about a “new world order.”

That is how BRICS can move towards global governance, by creating forms of cooperation that reflect the interests of the global majority and not by copying the institutions of Western dominance.

* Timofey Bordachev is Program Director of the Valdai Club. This article was originally published at https://www.rt.com/
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

On July 22, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt Badr Abdelatty on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial meetings in Manila.

The ministers of Russia and Egypt discussed the situation in the Middle East, which has become volatile as the result of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran. Both sides emphasised the imperative of redoubling political and diplomatic efforts to settle differences with due regard for the legitimate interests of all regional countries.

They also talked about several current issues of the multifaceted Russian-Egyptian cooperation, including the schedule of upcoming contacts. The ministers noted mutual commitment to the further strengthening of strategic partnership, expansion of trade and economic cooperation, and the continued implementation of major infrastructure projects.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

On July 22, 2026, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil Mauro Vieira in Manila, on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial events.

During the conversation, which took place in a traditionally friendly and trust-based atmosphere, the parties exchanged views on the most pressing issues on the regional and international agenda, including the situation in the Persian Gulf zone, and discussed Russian-Brazilian interaction within the framework of the United Nations, BRICS, and the G20.

Concrete steps were outlined for the further strengthening of the strategic partnership. The schedule of upcoming bilateral contacts was duly determined.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

On July 22, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sideline of multilateral ASEAN events in Manila.

The ministers discussed the schedule of upcoming political contacts at various levels and various international platforms, main issues of bilateral cooperation, and current issues on the global and regional agenda.

They agreed to maintain their trust-based dialogue at all levels and to coordinate Russia-India interaction in key international formats.

Russia
Source: mid.ru

On July 24, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a regular meeting to discuss a range of issues on the bilateral and international agendas.

The two ministers expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum of Russian-Chinese relations, which have reached an unprecedented high level as a comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. The Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation provides a solid foundation for this relationship, and its 25th anniversary is being widely commemorated this year by Moscow and Beijing, including through joint events organised by Russian and Chinese diplomatic missions in third countries and at international organisations. Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi exchanged views on bilateral political dialogue, practical cooperation, and humanitarian ties, with particular attention to the implementation of the agreements reached during President Vladimir Putin’s official visit to China in May.

The ministers also discussed interaction within the SCO framework, including prospects for the further development of the organisation as part of its comprehensive modernisation. Considerable focus was placed on the substantive preparations for the forthcoming SCO Council of Heads of State meeting.
The importance of strengthening strategic coordination between Moscow and Beijing on the international stage was underscored, including within the UN and its Security Council, the SCO, BRICS, the G20, APEC, and other international forums.

Discussions also covered relations with the United States and the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis.

Following the meeting, the parties noted a convergence or similarity of approaches to the majority of the issues raised.

Russia
Source: brics-plus-analytics.org

With climate change emerging as one of the key vulnerabilities for the global economy, there is a greater emphasis placed by scholars on pro-active and anticipatory policy responses to such challenges. Rather than waiting for further escalation in climate-related risks before launching any palpable relief measures, the anticipatory approach favors ex-ante preparation and modeling of the most affected regions and areas of policy response. Such an anticipatory paradigm is particularly important in the sphere of climate migration, where existing research suggests that ad hoc and ex-post policy response to climate change may be fraught with a shift of labour resources into informal economy. An anticipatory approach may render climate migration more effective in bolstering economic growth in recipient economies and supporting the affected donor regions via targeted transfers and remittances. The BRICS and the Global South more broadly are already developing important collaborative mechanisms that may promote the emergence of such an anticipatory response system, rendering the developing world more resilient to climate change risks.

Climate migration: drivers and affected regions

According to the Groundswell report of the World Bank (pessimistic scenario – “without early and concerted action”), up to 216 million people could become internal climate migrants by 2050. Broader estimates of potential climate migration/climate refugees that take into account migration due to natural disasters suggest even higher levels of adversity for the world economy – in particular, Zurich Insurance estimates suggest that the number of climate refugees could reach 1.2 bn by 2050[1]. Climate migration of that scale entails notable costs, including the costs disruptions in labor markets, the need for retraining and reallocating labor to other regions and sectors of national and regional economies. Some of the recent estimates suggest that the costs of adaptation for the labor force in the affected regions may be more significant compared to earlier estimates – as argued in a 2024 paper by Paul Clements, “with average annual numbers of people displaced by sudden-onset weather events who return home rising from around 30 million a year in the 2020s to around 59 million a year in the 2040s, average costs for supporting them would rise from below $4.6 billion to below $9.1 billion a year”[2]. Such higher estimates in turn according to the study call for greater focus on climate migration on the part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In terms of the regional impact of climate change on migration, Sub-Saharan Africa is projected by the World Bank to register the highest number of internal climate migrants, where this figure could reach as high as 85.7 mn people (4.2% of the projected population); East Asia and the Pacific are projected to register 48.4 mn internal climate migrants; South Asia 40.5 mn (1.8%); North Africa 19.3 mn (9%). As the World Bank report notes, “hotspots of internal climate migration could emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050” [3], with the scale of migration flows being particularly significant in the climate-vulnerable and poorest areas. Across the main regions of the Global South, Sub-Saharan Africa tops the global economy in the absolute size of climate migrant flows, while Northern Africa leads in terms of the share of these migrants in the region’s population. This in turn renders the challenge of climate migration particularly palpable for the developing world, raising the risks of widening income disparities and development gaps across the Global South.

According to studies that focus on the regional patterns of climate migration, “most of these movements are local or inter-regional. South–South international migration responses are smaller, while the South–North migration response is of the “brain drain” type and induces a permanent increase in the number of foreigners in OECD countries in the range of 6–9% only”[4]. While the importance of local migration within climate migration flows does suggest that national policies geared towards mitigating climate risks will play a key role, it also lays bare there the significant scope of liberalization in international migration flows to relieve the pressures at the national level and create greater optionality in the adjustment instruments to cope with climate change and climate migration.  

Another study undertaken by Yang, X., Chen, D., Wahab, I. et al. (2025) assessed the sensitivity of international migration to climate change across 160 countries and regions, with the results showing that “migration patterns are strongly influenced by a country’s baseline climate and economic conditions… A simple predictive model based on projected changes in climate and GDP suggests that populations in low-GDP, low-latitude countries will face worsening conditions and increasing migration pressure by the end of the 21st century. The results underscore the growing influence of economic factors on migration and call for urgent integration of climate justice into migration policy to support vulnerable populations in a warming world.”^[5].

With climate migration risks particularly afflicting underdeveloped areas of the global economy, there may be a need to explore the scope for ex-ante/preventive labor migration that addresses the development needs of the affected regions and at the same time relieves the ex-post/subsequent pressures from escalating climate change risks. The need to shift to an anticipatory framework is starting to be increasingly recognized in academic literature, with one of the recent papers by Hanna Marcus calling for “a shift towards anticipatory, rights-based adaptation planning that recognizes mobility as both a potential risk and an adaptive strategy in response to climate change”[6].

An anticipatory framework for climate migration

The problem with ex-post/ad hoc response in climate migration is that it may result in a significant shift of migrant labor into the informal sector, thus reducing the benefits to both the recipient and donor economies[7]. The idea of a pro-active paradigm would then be to facilitate ex-ante labor, seasonal and urban migration in regions that are experiencing an escalation in climate migration pressures. In a way, this strategy involves employing various categories of migration, including regular, ongoing labor migration in such a way that subsequent pressures associated with climate migration are alleviated. The scope to pursue such a strategy is facilitated by commonalities in the regional patterns of climate migration pressures and labor/urban migration – as mentioned above, existing research points to the significant role played by regional/local migration, including from depressed rural areas into urban agglomerations in driving climate migration flows.

Accordingly, rather than treating migration as an ad hoc response to climate-related crises, the proposed approach is to look at migration as a pro-active and planned adaptation tool. Such a paradigm of “migration as an adaptation tool” would have to be predicated on sequencing of key policy steps in a way that relies significantly on the insights provided by detailed labor market data.

1. The first stage would then focus on accumulating labor market data for regions affected by climate change as well as areas that may become the recipients of labor migrant flows. This would need to be accompanied by predictive modelling that would serve to identify the regions that are to be prioritized in terms of economic support and pro-active migration policy measures.
2. The second stage would focus on building ex-ante/anticipatory migration corridors, which may involve infrastructure development in the donor as well as the recipient regions. At the same time, such a strategy would need to be balanced and pursued with caution as there is a need to ensure sufficient support for the donor regions – as argued by Almulhim, A.I. et al, “adopting strategies to enhance communities’ coping and adaptive capacities can minimize the need for migration in the face of both gradual and abrupt changes”[8].
3. The third stage would target an array of measures associated with matching the labor supply and demand gaps, which in turn may involve: a. Skill pre-matching and retraining of the migrant labor force that is to relocate to the recipient regions from the zones affected by climate change; b. Phased placement of the migrants in line with the indications of where there may be excess demand for the labor force and scope to receive migration inflows
4. Managing ex-post remittance flows: the remittances from the ex-ante migration waves would be directed in part towards the areas experiencing climate pressures (donor regions) – this may be done via co-financing from the government or/and tax incentives.
5. Expanding the perimeter for migration adaptation: lowering the barriers/costs for migration flows across regions internationally across country borders. This may be facilitated by introducing initiatives into labor market regulations/integration road maps across the regional integration arrangements (RIAs) of the Global South. Such labor market policy packages for the respective RIAs may include the diplomas certification and mutual recognition, visa-free travel, professional competency standards harmonization/recognition, etc.

What role for BRICS+ and the Global South?

Within the international dimension, such an anticipatory paradigm may be difficult to construct across the North-South axis, given the rising pressures in the US and Europe associated with migration flows. There may be more scope to explore its potential in the South-South space and in particular on the basis of coordination undertaken by BRICS+ in this area. In particular, during the meeting of BRICS labor and employment ministers in India’s Hyderabad that took place on July 15, 2026 the bloc’s economies agreed on boosting cooperation in the digital space (with reference to the interoperability of labor platforms) that may raise the capabilities of BRICS to monitor trends and bridge gaps across BRICS labor markets[9]. In this respect, the BRICS labor and employment ministers approved the creation of the BRICS CONNECT platform designed to advance the group’s cooperation in the labor market sphere – such labor market connectivity would be an indispensable component in the coordination of South-South climate migration.

Some of the key statements in the Ministerial Declaration that are relevant for the building of the proposed anticipatory framework for climate migration, most notably in the digital economy space, include the following:

• Para 16: We commit to strengthen collaboration in forecasting skills needs by analysing labour market trends in digital, green, care and other priority sectors.
• Para 18: We recognize the transformative role of digital technologies in expanding the outreach of social protection and enhancing inclusiveness and accessibility for workers’ welfare. This can facilitate the identification of eligible beneficiaries, providing them with the right support through interoperable labour platforms, with due regard to domestic digital governance and data protection frameworks.
• Para 24: We endorse the work done by Employment Working Group and progress made in building on Virtual Liaison Office. We adopt BRICS CONNECT (BRICS Cooperation Network for Capacity Building, Employability, and New Skills and Technologies), a streamlined, flexible platform with four components: ● Capacity Building for Advancing Social Security ● Women’s participation in the workforce ● Skills and Employability ● Digital Public Infrastructure

As noted in the press-release of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the meeting accorded priority to digital cooperation in the labor market space with the view to strengthening “labour market intelligence, improve skills forecasting and make training systems more responsive to demand in green, digital and care economies… The meeting also addressed the potential of digital technologies to improve worker protection. ILO and ISSA analysis identified key digital enablers including simplified worker registration, contribution collection, benefits management, identity verification, digital payments, mobile access, skills profiling, career guidance and job matching” [10].
The BRICS Labor and Employment Ministers’ Declaration may be accessed via the following link: https://southsouthpoint.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DECLARATION-BRICS-14072026-1111.pdf
Conclusions
There is a rising sense of urgency of acting on climate migration as ongoing studies reveal new evidence of higher costs and secondary effects associated with climate change. In this respect, recent research suggests that as climate change progresses, the mobility of the affected population, particularly those with lower incomes, is adversely impacted. As stated by the authors of the study, “climate change induces decreases in emigration of lowest-income levels by over 10% in 2100 for medium development and climate scenarios compared with no climate change and by up to 35% for more pessimistic scenarios including catastrophic damages. This effect would leave resource-constrained populations extremely vulnerable to both subsequent climate change impacts and increased poverty”^[11]. Such estimates further strengthen the case for ex-ante migration adaptation solutions rather than policies based on ex-post adjustment to climate shocks – the longer the delays in policy response, the greater the costs associated with addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

Overall, building an anticipatory framework for climate migration could benefit from ex-ante modeling and matching of labour, urban, seasonal and extra-regional migration flows with the potential flows associated with climate migration. The BRICS Connect/BRICS+ platforms could work together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as well as NDB and regional development banks to build capacity for a data-driven effort to optimize migration flows and render them a more effective adaptation tool with respect to climate change. Supplementary measures associated with cooperation in the digital space (to improve ex-ante modeling capacity), building reserves for assisting migrants as well as rolling out of new payment systems among BRICS+ to facilitate remittance flows in national currencies would further improve the operational capabilities of the proposed anticipatory framework for climate migration.

[1] https://www.zurich.com/insights/business/there-could-be-1-2-billion-climate-refugees-by-2050-here-s-what-you-need-to-know
[2] https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10287
[3] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/2c9150df-52c3-58ed-9075-d78ea56c3267
[4] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-demographic-economics/article/abs/geography-of-climate-migration/36385220AF862F16074605E671D4EE22
[5] Yang, X., Chen, D., Wahab, I. et al. Evidence of climate and economic drivers affecting migration in an unequal and warming world. Commun Earth Environ 6, 782 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02811-2; https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02811-2?fromPaywallRec=false
[6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519626000355
[7] https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/6/3/109
[8] Almulhim, A.I., Alverio, G.N., Sharifi, A. et al. Climate-induced migration in the Global South: an in depth analysis. npj Clim. Action 3, 47 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00133-1;
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-024-00133-1#citeas
[9] https://tvbrics.com/news/strany-briks-sozdali-platformu-dlya-obmena-opytom-i-tekhnologiyami-v-sfere-zanyatosti/
[10] https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/ilo-welcomes-brics-focus-social-protection-women%E2%80%99s-labour-force
[11] Benveniste, H., Oppenheimer, M. & Fleurbaey, M. Climate change increases resource-constrained international immobility. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 634–641 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01401-w;
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01401-w?fromPaywallRec=false

Yaroslav Lissovolik, Founder, BRICS+ Analytics

Zimbabwe
Source: www.heraldonline.co.zw

ZIMBABWE has been officially admitted into the New Development Bank, commonly known as the BRICS Bank, unlocking long-term financing for infrastructure development, industrialisation and economic transformation.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube announced the admission yesterday while addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo 2026, describing the country’s admission into the multilateral financial institution as a significant milestone for its economic growth agenda.

The bank was established in 2015 by the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — with an initial authorised capital of US$100 billion.

Headquartered in Shanghai, China, the bank was created to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging markets and developing economies.

Zimbabwe’s admission comes when it is intensifying efforts to accelerate industrialisation, modernise infrastructure and achieve Vision 2030, which seeks to transform the country into an upper-middle-income economy.

“Yesterday we were admitted…we are now a member of the BRICS Bank. So, you can now access capital from the BRICS Bank. We will make a formal announcement properly later,” said Prof Ncube.
He was contributing to a plenary session alongside other Cabinet Ministers at the conference organised by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in partnership with the African Economic Development Strategy and ZimTrade.

Membership of the New Development Bank is expected to provide Zimbabwe with access to long-term development finance, particularly for infrastructure and industrial expansion, areas that require patient capital often unavailable through conventional commercial lending channels.

The development is particularly significant given Zimbabwe’s limited access to concessionary financing from traditional international financial institutions over the past two decades, mainly due to sanctions.
As a result, Zimbabwe has largely relied on domestic resources, bilateral support and alternative financing to fund critical development.

The bank membership is, therefore, expected to broaden the country’s financing options and complement ongoing efforts to mobilise resources for economic development.

Prof Ncube said access to the BRICS Bank would strengthen the availability of credit facilities required to support productive sectors of the economy.

“So, these credit facilities are going to grow, and they are also a source of financing for industry,” he said.

Prof Ncube outlined a broader strategy aimed at improving access to affordable capital for local industries, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

He highlighted the role of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s targeted financing facilities, which provide concessionary funding at below-market interest rates to support productive sectors and stimulate industrial output.

The Industrial Development Fund had already financed 15 strategic projects across key sectors of the economy, with particular attention being given to strengthening critical supply chains such as pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Prof Ncube pointed to the National Venture Fund, which is providing equity financing to start-ups and emerging businesses as an alternative to traditional debt financing.

He said Government’s participation in such ventures is capped at 15 percent and must be exited within five years, ensuring that the initiative remains focused on nurturing private enterprise and innovation.

Prof Ncube encouraged businesses seeking expansion capital to take advantage of opportunities available on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange and the soon-to-be-launched Small and Medium Enterprises Stock Exchange in Bulawayo.

He commended local financial institutions for securing international lines of credit from organisations such as the Afreximbank and the European Investment Bank, which are helping to increase lending capacity within the domestic banking sector.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira said Zimbabwe’s trade and foreign policy strategy was increasingly focused on creating opportunities for local industry through regional and international market integration.

Government was pursuing policies aimed at enhancing participation in regional and continental trading arrangements, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), SADC and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

Prof Murwira said opening domestic markets and removing trade barriers were essential for creating reciprocal access to foreign markets.

“If we want the AfCFTA to work, if we want SADC, or the Free Trade Pact to work, if we want Comesa to work, it means Zimbabwe must open its market first because you can’t expect other people to open markets for you when you are closing yours,” he said.

Government was working to streamline tariff and non-tariff measures to improve the competitiveness of local products and facilitate export growth.

Prof Murwira described foreign policy as an important enabler of trade and investment, saying economic diplomacy was becoming increasingly central to the country’s engagement with the international community.

“When we invest in ourselves, we create confidence that attracts big capital. I just want to then say that we, as a country, our strategy, which is our trade and foreign policy strategy, is to be bold enough to open our markets,” he said.

Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said micro, small and medium enterprises had become a critical pillar of Zimbabwe’s economy.

The sector now contributed about 60 percent of gross domestic product and accounted for about 70 percent of the country’s gold production.

Minister Mutsvangwa said women owned 56 percent of these smaller enterprises nationwide and continued to play a leading role in agriculture, food processing and other productive sectors.
“When we say micro, small, and medium enterprises… this is the new economy of Zimbabwe. If we leave them behind, Vision 2030 will not be achieved as we want it with an upper-middle-income society,” she said.

Minister Mutsvangwa said Government was addressing financing challenges affecting micro, small and medium enterprises through initiatives such as the National Venture Company and the Industrial Development Fund, which are designed to expand access to capital and support enterprise growth across the country’s provinces.

Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training Minister Tino Machakaire said industrialisation remained key to addressing youth unemployment and social challenges such as drug and substance abuse.

He said his ministry had shifted its focus towards practical skills development and entrepreneurship training to ensure young people became job creators rather than job seekers.

Government, working with development partners including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Food Programme, was supporting innovation and industrial hubs across the country as part of efforts to drive inclusive economic growth.

The conference brought together policymakers, industry leaders, financiers and development partners to discuss strategies for accelerating industrialisation, enhancing competitiveness and advancing Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 aspirations.