The summit of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) will take place on August 22 in Johannesburg and will be the group's first face-to-face meeting since 8. 2019.
 |
| Flags of Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India at the BRICS Summit September 9. Photo: Sputnik |
According to Sputnik (Russia), BRICS leaders are preparing for the highly anticipated summit in South Africa. Since its inception, the BRICS have become the group representing the aspirations of developing nations to challenge the collective economic hegemony of the West. What will BRICS do to achieve this goal?
At the Economic Forum of St. Petersburg in June 6, the economic ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) established an inter-country association to support economic growth. The first official meeting of the BRIC members took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2006. The first BRIC summit took place in Yekaterinburg, Russia in June 9. South Africa joined the bloc in December 2006.
From the outset, the BRIC group of countries proposed and outlined a variety of goals that were primarily economic - from joint investment opportunities, economic cooperation, to dealing with the 2008 financial crisis. , global development, reform the United Nations and ensure that emerging and developing economies have a greater voice and representation in international financial institutions. The communique of the Yekaterinburg summit in June 6 summarized the goals and interests of the parties - including promoting dialogue and cooperation between countries step by step, proactive, open and transparent, with the goal of not only serving the common interests of emerging market economies and developing countries, but also building a harmonious world with lasting peace and common prosperity.
Less than a decade and a half since its founding, the BRICS countries have demonstrated significant developments. Specifically, in 2022, BRICS surpassed the Group of Leading Industrialized Countries (G7) in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2018. BRICS has also established roadmaps and institutions that work together to ensure members' resilience to pressure when third parties harm their economies. Seven years from now, by 2030, the BRICS countries are expected to account for more than 50% of the world's GDP, further cementing their position as the most powerful economic bloc in the world.
Unlike many Western-led economic and political institutions, the BRICS does not have a single headquarters. Instead, the bloc's operating bodies are spread across member states. In particular, the New Development Bank is headquartered in Shanghai (China), the BRICS Trade Council is located in Johannesburg (South Africa), the short-term financial support framework of the Contingency Reserve Agreement is headquartered in Moscow (Russia). The group's summits will be rotated in member countries, further reinforcing the bloc's image of equality-based partnership.
With growing economic capital and political influence, the BRICS group is increasingly attractive to many countries in the developing world and the Southern Hemisphere. Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran are now official BRICS candidates. In addition, nearly 30 other countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America – from Nigeria and Turkey to Afghanistan, Indonesia, Mexico, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia – have either signed up or expressed interest. interested in joining this block.
Unlike the geopolitical power blocs of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the BRICS countries have emphasized openness and pragmatism as the foundation for cooperation among members. This, incidentally, has allowed countries that can see themselves as potential rivals, such as China and India, but still cooperate harmoniously in the organization despite disagreements. The bloc's members have a combined GDP of more than $26 trillion, accounting for 41% of the world's population and 26,7% of the world's land area (39,7 million square kilometers). BRICS members are also the world's leading economic and technological powers (China) and military powers (Russia).
BRICS members are pushing to create a new trade and reserve currency that could act as an alternative to the dollar. The move to create a BRICS coin promises to significantly strengthen the bloc's position in global affairs. Details of the new currency have yet to be announced. Experts say that the major economic rivals of the BRICS, China and India, will certainly find the advantages of the BRICS currency before an agreement can be reached that suits the interests of all parties. These discussions are certainly underway. Observers predict that this currency can be traded for a variety of goods and act as a digital currency for trade between countries.
The continued integration of the BRICS, especially its ability to create an alternative to the dollar, threatens to knock Washington out of global economic power. Experts say that if BRICS members can put their differences aside and cooperate for the benefit of all members, a fairer and more inclusive world order can become a reality. . That shows that the goal of the BRICS is not to damage or destroy the US and other Western countries economically or politically. Instead, the goal of the BRICS is to change the world order from unipolar to multipolar.
customs vein
