Uganda’s BRICS moment: Can it lead East Africa at the 2025 Summit?

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OPINION

By Mark Omona

Uganda’s entry into the expanded BRICS bloc in January 2025 as East Africa’s only partner state is historic, a seismic shift in its global role. But this seat is no trophy; it’s a responsibility, one misstep from irrelevance. The BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6 and 7, 2025, is a crucible for leadership, shaping a multipolar world where Russia and China pivot to the Global South.

The Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Rio on April 28 and 29, 2025, signalled Uganda’s rising clout. To seize this golden opportunity, Uganda must lead, not linger, with a reimagined foreign policy that commands the global stage.

As East Africa’s sole BRICS voice, Uganda has a mandate to champion regional priorities in a bloc challenging Western hegemony. BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and new partners, are dismantling the dominance of the IMF and World Bank. The Rio Summit is a battleground for influence, and Uganda’s exclusivity offers leverage.

The BRICS Pay system could slash costs for coffee exports to Russia and China, enabling a coffee farmer in Mbale to earn more from Moscow than Mombasa, reshaping East African trade. Climate finance could fund new solar projects to complement infrastructure like Karuma, countering the region’s droughts. Diplomatically, Uganda must demand Africa’s permanent UN Security Council seat. Silence risks letting others dictate Africa’s future.

The stakes are immense. Passive engagement could marginalise Uganda in a summit redefining global power. Uganda must lead the East African Community, working with Kenya and Tanzania to present a unified regional front. Specific demands are critical: trade protections to double coffee and tea exports, climate funds for solar and hydropower, and governance reforms amplifying African voices.

Skeptics may claim Uganda’s size limits its influence, but leadership hinges on vision, not scale. From an IR lens, this marks a shift from non-alignment to strategic leadership in a multipolar order. Inaction hands influence louder BRICS voices.

Leading in Rio demands a foreign policy overhaul. Reactive diplomacy won’t suffice. A dedicated BRICS envoy must spearhead preparations, backed by a national BRICS strategy aligning trade, climate, and diplomatic goals.

Engaging academics, businesses, and civil society will forge a bold agenda. Strategic partnerships are vital: Russia’s agricultural technology can modernise Uganda’s coffee farms, India’s digital infrastructure can bridge rural connectivity, and Brazil’s sustainable agriculture can bolster food security. Educational exchanges, like Russia’s Open Doors Scholarship, are diplomatic tools, equipping Uganda’s youth to navigate multipolarity.

Joining BRICS was a triumph, but Rio is the true test. Uganda isn’t just at the table, it can shape the conversation. In Rio, Uganda must not whisper from the wings but speak from the centre. The world is watching. Rio is no ceremony; it’s a choice. Will Uganda echo the past, or author a future worthy of its BRICS moment?

The writer is an International Relations, foreign Policy expert