Brazil released the emblem for its forthcoming BRICS presidency, which highlights the sumaúma cotton tree, native to the Amazon rainforest. The logo, which appears on the Brazilian government’s official website, features a multi-colored tree on a blue background, in hues inspired by the national flag, red, green, blue, yellow, and orange.
The species, which can grow to 60 meters tall and with trunk thicknesses of up to two meters, is a symbol of the “grandeur of diplomacy” and represents the socio-economic and political importance of BRICS.
BRICS– Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — had expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia. Brazil will take over the chair on Jan. 1, 2025.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participated via video conference at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 22–24, 2024, due to a domestic accident. He also reiterated Brazil’s intention to help promote a multipolar world, while proposing mechanisms for alternative payments for transactions between BRICS countries to bypass traditional payment systems.
Mindful of the fact that Brazil inherits the BRICS presidency from South Africa in 2024, bringing these four countries — India, China, and the two South African power-brokers — into dialogue on a global stage will require acumen in collaborative governance as perhaps will nowhere else in the world. Brazil will also hold the presidency of the G20 during that period, which underlines its heightened status in international affairs.
The presentation of the sumaúma-inspired logotype reinforces Brazil’s commitment, not only to environmental sustainability, a focus of Lula’s government, but also to its culture, marking a departure from the previous government, and signals its upcoming leadership role in the BRICS alliance.
