What is BRICS? Six new international locations invited to affix bloc
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fter three days of deliberations behind closed doorways, six new international locations, together with Saudi Arabia, have been requested to affix the BRICS group of creating international locations.
According to Cyril Ramaphosa – president of South Africa and the summit’s host – Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to affix BRICS as full members.
Expanding the bloc, which at the moment consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was the main target of the three-day summit in Johannesburg.
Although the proposal is offered as a way of amplifying the voice of creating international locations, a number of members have expressed reluctance since it will advance the geopolitical targets of Beijing and Moscow.
In the midst of the continuing Ukraine conflict and China-US rivalry, an expanded BRICS is anticipated to encourage China and Russia to forge a symbolic alliance.
The different particular measure put out by the group in South Africa is a complete scheme to modify from utilizing the US greenback for commerce between BRICS international locations to buying and selling in native currencies.
What is BRICS?
BRICS is a bunch of 5 international locations with rising economies that need to instate their very own world financial and commerce methods.
The group goals to create a brand new foreign money, and dozens of different international locations need to be part of the group.
BRICS is an acronym that stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the 5 international locations within the group. The time period, which was initially BRIC earlier than South Africa joined in 2010, was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs analyst Jim O’Neill. O’Neill wrote a paper on rising economies and stated that Brazil, Russia, India, and China had GDP development that will exceed that of the G7 international locations.
O’Neill discovered that, on the finish of 2000, Brazil, Russia, India, and China accounted for about 23.3 per cent of world GDP. He anticipated the BRIC international locations’ GDP to extend and prompt the G7 international locations ought to think about including BRIC representatives to the group.
In 2006, Brazil, Russia, India, and China fashioned a casual group in 2006 as allies that contribute to the world financial system.
BRICS surpassed the worldwide GDP contribution of the G7 international locations in 2023, in keeping with the group, which says BRICS accounts for practically one-third of world financial exercise.
This 12 months’s summit, which takes place yearly, is predicted to be the largest, with 69 leaders invited, and is specializing in decreasing world reliance on the US greenback.
Which international locations are a part of BRICS?
Brazil, Russia, India, and China are the founding members of BRICS, whereas South Africa was the primary nation to affix as a part of the enlargement in 2010. South Africa is the smallest member by way of its financial system and inhabitants.
Who else desires to affix?
More than 40 international locations have expressed curiosity in becoming a member of BRICS and 22 have submitted functions. “This growing coalition is a testament to the increasing influence of BRICS in the international arena and its potential to shape the future of global finance,” the group stated.
The international locations are:
- Iran
- Argentina
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
- Kazakhstan
- Bolivia
- Indonesia
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- Cuba
- Algeria
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Comoros
- Gabon
As of August 24, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have all been invited to affix.
Does BRICS have its personal foreign money?
The BRICS group says it goals to create new financial and commerce methods separate from US-led Western methods.
At this 12 months’s summit, the group will focus on the feasibility of a brand new foreign money, particularly de-dollarisation, “aiming to reduce the reliance on the US dollar and promote the use of national currencies in international trade.”
The group first began discussing a brand new foreign money after the US imposed sanctions on Russia within the wake of that nation’s invasion of Ukraine. “A common currency among BRICS nations could lead to the establishment of stronger economic ties and new geopolitical alliances, further solidifying their position as a rising power de-dollarisation coalition,” the group stated.
Former White House senior advisor Joseph W Sullivan informed American journal Foreign Policy that “Unlike competitors proposed in the past, like a digital yuan, this hypothetical currency actually has the potential to usurp, or at least shake, the dollar’s place on the throne.”