05 February 2025, 14:53

Belarus’ expectations from SCO and BRICS: Official strategies and expert opinions

In July of last year, Belarus became a full-fledged member of the SCO family, and a few months later it formalized the status of a BRICS partner. This was not a spontaneous decision, but a well-considered and thought-out move by the president. Further steps of the Belarusian leadership show that the country was not jumping in head first. In January, Aleksandr Lukashenko approved two important documents: the strategy of Belarus' participation in the SCO and the strategy of actions in BRICS. Experts agree that membership in these organizations will help Belarus build new partnerships and bolster its international standing. Well, let's look into it.

In the new episode of BelTA’s YouTube project “After the Fact: Lukashenko’s Decisions” we will take a look at the two documents and explain what Aleksandr Lukashenko expects of the SCO and BRICS. What goals and objectives does Belarus pursue and how can the country be useful to these groups? Will they finally be able to end the West's dominance and why is Belarus not willing to watch this game from the “bench”?

In previous episodes, we examined what distinguishes the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS from other international associations. Last year the head of state noted: the SCO and BRICS represent the progressive global majority. This is a challenge to the ideology of global unification. According to him, Belarus’ place is next to the nations that represent different cultures but share commitment to peace and development.

When did Belarus start cooperating with the SCO?

Belarus has been participating in the SCO since 2010.First in the partnerstatus. In 2015, Belarus was granted the observer status. This decision can be considered unique: Belarus is not part of the Asian region, and so far we are the only European state to actively interact with the SCO.

When we decided to join the organization, it was not just a matter of fashion or a bid to follow the trend. We were well aware of the potential that the SCO had to offer and we hoped to gain practical benefits from our involvement. Initially, the organization was created as a platform for security cooperation, and now we are hoping for further growth and development," Ambassador at Large for Belarus' engagement with the SCO and BRICS Andrei Luchenok said.

Back in December 2005, summarizing the results of his state visit to China, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that it was very important for Belarus to be present in the SCO.

"This is a very rapidly developing Asian organization. A very potent center of power is emerging, and it is very important for us to be part of this organization, even as an observer at this stage. Since this is a developing region, it will see major events in the future, including in economy. By participating in this regional organization, we can get solid dividends not only in political terms, but also in economic terms,” the head of state said.

To have an idea of the prospects of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, it is enough to look at the territory the SCO member states occupy on the world map. With such a scale, the president noted, there is no need to be a NATO-style military bloc to deter any aggression.

Why did Belarus decide to participate in BRICS?

Belarus also kept an eye on BRICS for a long time, but was in no hurry to jump in. Back in 2015, at the summit in Ufa, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus welcomed the open nature of BRICS and was ready to actively engage in various areas of cooperation as a friendly state. Belarus has long and consistently promoted the idea of "integration of integrations" and has always favored equal relations between West and East, North and South without dividing lines.

However, it was not until May 2023 that the president of Belarus sent official membership requests to the heads of BRICS member states. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs described this decision as an absolutely logical step in the context of Belarus’ efforts to expand interaction in multilateral formats with traditional partners and friendly nations.

"This authoritative organization has the world’s power players in its ranks; BRICS member states account for more than 40% of the world’s population. We are interested in joining integration processes in the BRICS area. BRICS is one of props that can help us maintain balance and economic stability,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting on international issues in July of last year.

Why did Belarus develop a strategy for participation in the SCO?

What do the strategies of Belarus' participation in the SCO and BRICS say? Let's start with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The document reads that Belarus views the SCO as "a regional organization that contributes to building a multipolar, fair and stable world order, and has a high potential for ramping up mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation".

Our country intends to use the competitive advantages of the organization to address common problems in politics and security, to search for optimal mechanisms to expand economic cooperation, deepen cultural and humanitarian ties.

"Of course, it is not just a question of taking a full-fledged part in meetings of various SCO structures. It is important not just to attend meetings, but to convey our position on certain security issues in a broader context. We are not talking about military and defense security only. We also mean economic security and electoral security. In other words, there are quite a lot of topics, and our opinion will already be reflected in key documents. This is what is important for us,’ believe Olga Lazorkina, an analyst with the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR).

Among the main goals of Belarus' participation in the SCO are to defend national interests at the multilateral level, to create favorable external conditions to ensure sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, to promote sustainable development in political, economic, social, cultural and other spheres, to boost comprehensive and balanced economic growth. Does this sound too general and vague? Only at first glance.

"Today, the dominant position of some Western countries in the world economy and finance allows them to put pressure on other states through sanctions and restrictions in trade. Thus, we are interested in developing a new, alternative financial, investment payment infrastructure. This topic is now being discussed in the SCO and BRICS,” Ambassador at Large Andrei Luchenok said.

Simultaneously, we are working to increase the share of settlements in national currencies in order to wean ourselves off Western currencies. The second area of our interest is logistics.

“As a European country, we are interested in building and expanding transport corridors, rail, land, sea and multimodal transport, the North-South corridor and others. Transport and logistics offer us plenty of cooperation opportunities and a number of practical benefits. The third topic is food security. This is where we have experience, competences and achievements. We are ready to share our expertise and knowledge,” the ambassador at large said.

What tasks has Belarus set for itself?

First and foremost, Belarus wants to bolster its international credentials, promote coordination while addressing key issues of global politics and create an indivisible security space.

Of course, Belarus is interested in deepening trade and economic cooperation, expanding cultural, humanitarian and human contacts. It sounds rather general and vague, but each task covers many areas of interaction, and their implementation will require a lot of effort.

"Our goals and objectives are clear – bolstering our international standing and entering new markets as we are an export-oriented economy, as well as solving infrastructure issues on the macroeconomic level (this is monetary policy). We must sell around 60% of our output. Is this a lot or a little? For comparison: this will put us on the 14th place in the world; America and Russia are today in the second hundred - 104th and 121st place, respectively. A strong position on international markets iscrucial for the country's security and economic development,” said Economic analyst, PhD in Economics Georgy Grits.

In his words, cooperation with the EAEU, the Union State, projects with African countries, the People's Republic of China, the SCO and BRICS are an integral part of Belarus' strategy.

Why is BRICS format attractive for many countries?

BRICS is becoming another anchor of Belarus’ foreign policy. Aleksandr Lukashenko once remarked that China, India, Latin America, Africa, Arab states and pretty much everyone are tired of the American yoke. Today, the majority of the world's population want a new, fair world without discrimination and sanctions, a world where all people are free and equal, and problems are solved through dialogue.

In the current geopolitical conditions, the leadership of Belarus sees BRICS as an authoritative international platform that brings together the global majority to build true multipolarity, equality and inclusiveness in international relations, and to find effective ways to solve pressing problems.

“BRICS is a community of the future. Due to its potential, it can end the Western dominance. The collective West has failed to take responsibility for the civilized development of international relations. BRICS member states are able to ensure that the true levers of influence pass into the hands of the progressive global majority,” Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the BRICS summit in Kazan.

BRICS does not yet have its own charter, headquarters, permanent chairperson and secretariat. The work of the association is coordinated by the organizing country during its presidency. Cooperation in BRICS is carried out in three main areas: politics and security, economy and finance, culture and humanitarian ties.

All these areas are of interest to Belarus. Therefore, the country’s main goal as part of BRICS is to join the existing multilateral mechanisms, taking into account the further institutional development of the organization. Belarus will simultaneously seek to formalize its full membership in this association.

Key points of Belarus' BRICS participation strategy

The BRICS participation strategy was adopted to implement the foreign policy guidelines of the Belarusian president. Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that Belarus should pay special attention to relations with Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and also to strengthening interaction with its main partner Russia.

In its joint work with BRICS members and partners, Belarus prioritizes cooperation in politics and security based on the principles of mutual respect, indivisible security and guarantees of country development without confrontation. It is important for Belarus to ensure sustainable economic development aimed at preserving and increasing human potential, ensuring high social standards and decent quality of life, and introducing innovations and the latest technologies.

The matter also concerns ensuring global food security, fighting hunger and poverty, mitigating climate change, and expanding multilateral cooperation in the humanitarian sector. As in the case with the SCO, the document describes each of the areas in sufficient detail. We should not forget that this is first and foremost a strategy, which will be used to work on tactics.

Is it easy to monetize participation in SCO and BRICS?

According to Olga Lazorkina, the SCO and BRICS are not about bookkeeping and accounting today. It is not something that one can translate into concrete figures.

“The SCO and BRICS are more about the political context. We joined the SCO and BRICS in a critical period when both the world and these two organizations are undergoing transformation. It is vital for us to gain a foothold in these platforms for the future, not just to get new trade and economic partners. That is also important, but it is not a priority. The most important thing for us is to be directly involved in the formation of a new world, so that we can shape it ourselves. This is a more important task for an average state, but it cannot be monetized here and now. It is a matter of the future,” Olga Lazorkina said.

She remarked that a huge number of countries are lining up to join BRICS. “We should honestly ask ourselves a question: does everyone know about Belarus? What do they know about the country? We will work on this matter as well. The dividends will surely come later,” the expert said.

Both strategies approved by the president are designed to run for five years until 2030. In the future, they may be extended, updated and revised to take into account new trends. For Belarus, membership in the SCO and participation in BRICS is not a tribute to fashion, and certainly not a way to get media attention. Interaction with these states meets the long-term interests of Belarus. The international arena is like a stock market: someone speculates on stocks to make quick profit, while others patiently invest in their future and receive a well-deserved reward.