The BRICS group comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with a combined area of 39,746,220 km2 and an estimated population of 3.21 billion. The five countries are among the world’s ten largest by population, area, and GDP and are members of the G20.
Their combined nominal GDP is $28.06 trillion, with $56.65 trillion being their combined GDP, and $4.46 trillion expected to be their combined foreign reserves.
Since 2009, the BRICS, which were initially founded for investment motives, have transformed into a cohesive geopolitical group. They convene yearly in summits to coordinate global initiatives, with China serving as the host country for the 14th BRICS summit in 2022.
They are a significant adversary of the G7 group and have expressed interest in growing their membership.
The term BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) was introduced in 2001 for foreign investment strategies. The acronym was expanded to BRICS or BRICK for investing purposes. The first four BRIC general states met in New York City in 2006, followed by a formal summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. The summit focused on improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions.
The BRIC nations announced the need for a new global reserve currency, which was criticised for its “diverse, stable, and predictable” nature. South Africa joined the BRIC grouping in 2010, becoming a member in December 2010. The group was renamed BRICS, with “S” standing for South Africa.
Membership discussions will be discussed at the upcoming 15th Heads of State and government summit in Johannesburg from 22nd August through 24th August.
The BRICS Forum, an international organisation promoting commercial, political, and cultural cooperation among the BRICS nations, was formed in 2011. In 2012, the BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to boost the lending power of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but this loan was conditional on IMF voting reforms. In 2013, the BRICS agreed to create a global financial institution to cooperate with the IMF and World Bank.
However, disputes relating to burden sharing and location slowed down the agreements. China committed $41 billion towards the pool, while Brazil, India, Russia, and South Africa each contributed $18 billion. China also wants a more significant managing role and the location of the reserve.
In 2013, Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced the creation of $100 billion in funds designated to steady currency markets in early 2014. However, by April 2014, the currency reserve pool and development bank had not been set up, and the date was rescheduled to 2015. The development bank’s political significance allows BRICS member states to promote their interests abroad and highlight the strengthening positions of countries whose opinions are often ignored by their developed American and European colleagues.
In 2014, Putin met with Dilma Rousseff to discuss the BRICS development bank and other bilateral accords. The Fortaleza summit was followed by a meeting with the Union of South American Nations presidents in Brasilia, where the development bank and monetary fund were introduced. The group signed the long-anticipated document to create the US$100 billion New Development Bank (formerly known as the “BRICS Development Bank”) and a reserve currency pool worth over another US$100 billion. At the end of October 2014, Brazil trimmed down its holdings of US government securities to US$261.7 billion, India, China, and South Africa.
In 2015, Morgan Stanley stated that India and Indonesia had escaped from the ‘fragile five’ due to their vulnerable currencies. Since then, India and Indonesia have reformed their economies, completing 85% and 65% of the necessary adjustments, respectively. The BRICS group of countries has been planning an optical fiber submarine communications cable system to carry telecommunications between the BRICS countries, known as the BRICS Cable.
In August 2019, the communications ministers of the BRICS countries signed a letter of intent to cooperate in the information and communication technology sector. The New Development Bank plans to give out $15 billion to member nations to help their struggling economies. The 2020 BRICS summit discussed how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and how to fix the multilateral system via reforms.
In May 2023, South Africa announced that they would give diplomatic immunity to Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials so they could attend the 15th BRICS Summit despite the ICC arrest warrant for Putin. In July 2023, the Russian president announced that he would not personally attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on August 22–24, despite good relations with the South African nation.
The grouping has held annual summits since 2009, with member countries taking turns hosting. Prior to South Africa’s admission, two BRIC summits were held in 2009 and 2010. The first five-member BRICS summit was held in 2011. The most recent BRICS leaders’ summit took place virtually on June 23, 2022, and was hosted by China. India has hosted the BRICS 2021 summit in New Delhi, and amid tensions with China, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made a soft move by supporting India’s chairmanship in 2021.
A total of 22 countries have formally applied for membership, including Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Other countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Comoros, the D.R. Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe, have also expressed interest in joining the BRICS.
The BRICS group aims to become ‘BRICS Plus and take on numerous new members, with member states still deciding on admission criteria. The summit, which runs through Thursday, includes China’s President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russian President Vladimir Putin is represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and is expected to participate via video link.
The group aims to expand the global balance of power and account for 42% of the world’s population, 30% of the global land area, and 24% of global economic output. Over 30 other countries have confirmed their participation.
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