The South African government, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, established clear protections for all participants and attendees at two major BRICS gatherings that year. In essence, officials confirmed that visitors and delegations taking part in the BRICS Ministerial Meeting and the BRICS Summit would enjoy a full set of diplomatic exemptions and privileges. These arrangements align with longstanding international practice, which seeks to ensure that foreign officials can engage in negotiations, discussions, and formal proceedings without impediment from local administrative procedures or unrelated legal entanglements. The emphasis is on a smooth, predictable environment that supports dialogue, consensus-building, and the careful navigation of sensitive topics among member states and invited partners. This level of immunity and privilege is widely understood to cover travel, residence, and conduct during the official program, and it is intended to facilitate serious diplomacy across the BRICS membership and associated guests. (Source attribution: South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs statements and official communiqués).
According to official timelines, the BRICS Ministerial Meeting was scheduled to take place in Cape Town from June 1 through June 2, 2023, followed by the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22 through August 24, 2023. The scheduling reflects the organization’s pattern of convening high-level ministerial talks first, with a broader summit that brings together heads of state or government, finance ministers, and senior officials for strategic discussions, policy coordination, and joint declarations. The Cape Town gathering would serve as a platform to set the agenda, align national stances on economic development, trade facilitation, and regional cooperation, and address regional and global challenges through BRICS cooperation. The Johannesburg summit would then elevate these discussions to the highest political level, offering a venue for concrete commitments, project announcements, and assurances of continued collaboration across diverse sectors. (Source attribution: BRICS calendar and official announcements).
Issued statements underscored that, in accordance with applicable laws, participants in both the ministerial meeting and the BRICS Summit would receive exemptions and privileges during the entire event window. This assurance is routinely extended to diplomats, executives, and accredited delegates, enabling them to perform official duties with a minimum of bureaucratic friction. The intent is to preserve the integrity of diplomatic exchanges, reduce procedural delays, and ensure that attendees can focus on substantive negotiations rather than administrative hurdles. Observers note this practice as part of a broader framework that seeks to prevent impediments to multilateral diplomacy and to maintain a stable environment for high-stakes policy dialogue. (Source attribution: official statements and legal notes from the host country).
Meanwhile, external reporting from news agencies indicated that the Russian side remained committed to participating in the BRICS Summit scheduled for August 22–24 in South Africa, with preparations actively underway. It was noted that any complications related to the International Criminal Court (ICC) should be resolved through collaboration with South African partners, reflecting ongoing diplomatic channels and intergovernmental coordination. The question of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the summit in person was left open by the Kremlin, as Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary to the Russian president, stated that the final form of Putin’s participation had not been determined at that time. This review of participation methods—ranging from full-on attendance to delegations or videoconference participation—fits within common BRICS practice when managing the schedules and security considerations surrounding heads of state. (Source attribution: official statements from the Kremlin and contemporaneous international reporting).