BRICS

The term BRIC was originally developed in the context of foreign investment strategies. It was introduced in the 2001 publication, Building Better Global Economic BRICs by then-chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Jim O'Neill.[21]

The foreign ministers of the initial four BRIC General states (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) met in New York City in September 2006 at the margins of the General Debate of the UN Assembly, beginning a series of high-level meetings.[22] A full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 16 June 2009.[23]

The BRIC grouping's 1st formal summit, also held in Yekaterinburg, commenced on 16 June 2009,[24] with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, all attending.[25] The summit's focus was on improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions, and discussed how the four countries could better co-operate in the future.[24][25] There was further discussion of ways that developing countries, such as 3/4 of the BRIC members, could become more involved in global affairs.[25]

In the aftermath of the 2009 Yekaterinburg summit, the BRIC nations announced the need for a new global reserve currency, which would have to be "diverse, stable and predictable."[26] Although the statement that was released did not directly criticize the perceived "dominance" of the US dollar – something that Russia had criticized in the past – it did spark a fall in the value of the dollar against other major currencies.[27]

In 2010, South Africa began efforts to join the BRIC grouping, and the process for its formal admission began in August of that year.[28] South Africa officially became a member nation on 24 December 2010, after being formally invited by China to join[29] and subsequently accepted by other BRIC countries.[28] The group was renamed BRICS – with the "S" standing for South Africa – to reflect the group's expanded membership.[30] In April 2011, the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, attended the 2011 BRICS summit in Sanya, China, as a full member.[31][32][33]

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and Russian president Vladimir Putin during the BRICS in Brasília, Brazil.

In June 2012, the BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to boost the lending power of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, this loan was conditional on IMF voting reforms.[34] In March 2013, during the fifth BRICS summit in Durban, the member countries agreed to create a global financial institution to cooperate with the western-dominated IMF and World Bank.[35] They planned to set up this New Development Bank by 2014.[36] However, disputes relating to burden sharing and location slowed down the agreements.

BRICS Tower headquarters in Shanghai

At the BRICS leaders meeting in St Petersburg in September 2013, China committed $41 billion towards the pool; Brazil, India, and Russia $18 billion each; and South Africa $5 billion. China, who held the world's largest foreign exchange reserves and contributes the bulk of the currency pool, wanted a more significant managing role. China also wanted to be the location of the reserve.[37] In October 2013, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that creating a $100 billion in funds designated to steady currency markets would be taken in early 2014. The Brazilian finance minister, Guido Mantega, confirmed that the fund would be created by March 2014.[38] However, by April 2014, the currency reserve pool and development bank had yet to be set up, and the date was rescheduled to 2015.[39] One driver for the BRICS development bank is that the existing institutions primarily benefit extra-BRICS corporations, and the political significance is notable because it allows BRICS member states "to promote their interests abroad... and can highlight the strengthening positions of countries whose opinion is frequently ignored by their developed American and European colleagues."

New Development Bank's logo.

In July 2014, during the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza, the BRICS signed the 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. Documents on cooperation between BRICS export credit agencies and an agreement of cooperation on innovation were also inked. The Fortaleza summit was followed by a BRICS meeting with the Union of South American Nations presidents in Brasilia.[40]

Since 2011, the National Institutes of Statistics of the BRICS group of countries (IBGE, Rosstat, the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the Central Statistics Office (India) and Statistics South Africa) produce an annual joint statistical publication in order to put statistical production in perspective, compare adopted methodologies and statistical results. The publication serves as single data platform for the mutual benefit of participating countries.

Since 2012, the BRICS group of countries have been planning an optical fibre submarine communications cable system to carry telecommunications between the BRICS countries, known as the BRICS Cable.[41] Part of the motivation for the project was the spying of the U.S. National Security Agency on all telecommunications that flowed in and out of United States territory.[42] As of 2023, construction of the proposed cable network has not started.

After the 2015 summit, the respective communications ministers, under a Russian proposal, had a first summit for their ministries in Moscow in October where the host minister, Nikolai Nikiforov, proposed an initiative to further tighten their information technology sectors and challenge the monopoly of the United States in the sector.

In August 2019, the communications ministers of the BRICS countries signed a letter of intent to cooperate in the Information and Communication Technology sector. This agreement was signed in the fifth edition of meeting of communication ministers of countries member of the group[43] held in Brasília, Brazil.

Meeting of BRICS foreign ministers on 22 September 2022

The New Development Bank plans on giving out $15 billion to member nations to help their struggling economies. Member countries are hoping for a smooth comeback and a continuation of economic trade pre-COVID-19. The 2020 BRICS summit was held virtually in St. Petersburg, Russia and discussed how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and how to fix the multilateral system via reforms.[44] During the 13th BRICS summit, in 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a transparent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 under the World Health Organization with the full cooperation of "all countries", and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke directly afterwards, calling on BRICS countries to "oppose politicisation" of the process.[45]

In May 2023, South Africa announced that they would be giving diplomatic immunity to Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials so that they could attend the 15th BRICS Summit despite the ICC arrest warrant for Putin.[46][47] In July 2023, the Russian president announced that he will not personally attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on 22–24 August despite good relations with the South African nation. Russian news channels noted that Putin will remotely participate online in all BRICS leaders’ sessions, including its Business Forum, and also deliver his remarks virtually.[48]

In August 2023, at the 15th BRICS Summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that six emerging market group countries (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) had been invited to join the bloc. Full membership is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2024.[19][20]

The aim of latest expansion is touted as part of plan to build a "multipolar" world order that puts weight to hitherto subdued voices of the Global South and brings them to the centre of the world agenda.[49]

Country	Popu­lation (millions) (2023)[66][67]	Total GDP (2023)		GDP per capita (2023)		GDP growth (2023 est.)[68]	Foreign Exchange Reserves (2023)[69]	HFCE (2018)	Govern­ment spen­ding	Exports[70]	Imports[71]	Lite­racy rate[72]	Life expectancy (years, avg.)[73]	HDI (2021)[74]
		Nominal(billion USD) [75]	PPP(billion USD) [75]	Nominal USD [76]	PPP USD [76]
Brazil	215.31	2,081	4,020	9,673	18,686	3.4%	$355.6 bn	$1194670 bln	$ 846.6 bn	$ 487.05 bn	$ 158.93 bn	94.3%	77.2 yrs	0.754 (high)
Russia	144.71	2,062	4,988	14,403	34,837	0.7%	$600.9 bn	$856329 bln	$ 414.0 bn	$ 492.31 bn	$ 231.55 bn	99.7%	72.9 yrs	0.822 (very high)
India	1428.62	3,736	13,033	2,601	9,073	5.9%	$633.9 bn	$1729560 bln	$ 650.0 bn	$ 750.89 bn	$ 598.20 bn	79.1%	71.4 yrs	0.633 (medium)
China	1425.67	19,373	33,014	13,721	23,382	5.2%	$3480.2 bn	$5352545 bln	$2,031.0 bn	$3,026.00 bn	$2,055.00 bn	96.4%	77.4 yrs	0.768 (high)
South Africa	59.89	399	990	6,485	16,091	0.1%	$53.8 bn	$211693 bln	$ 95.3 bn	$ 123.73 bn	$ 68.97 bn	94.3%	64.8 yrs	0.713 (high)
Average	627.06	3,754	8,120	8,941	19,041	3.5%	$987.0 bn	$1868956 bln	$800.6 bn	$970.19 bn	$711.86 bn	93%	73.4 yrs	0.739 (high)
Total	3245.36	26,060	51,171	–	–	–	$5124.4 bn	$9344797 bln	$4,036.9 bn	$4,879.98 bn	$3,112.65 bn	–	–	–

Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay are members of BRICS New Development Bank.

Map key:

  Member States

  Will join on January 1, 2024

  Applicant

  Expressed an interest in joining

  Rejected invitation offer

  No relationship to BRICS

Discussions about the expansion and entry of new member countries were little addressed until the early 2020s, after this date, leaders and top ranking diplomats of the founding nations began discussions for the expansion of the group.[77][78][79]

There is no formal application process as such to join BRICS, but any hopeful government must receive unanimous backing from all existing BRICS members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—to receive an invitation.

A total of six countries are scheduled to join BRICS on 1 January 2024:[19][20]

• Argentina (opposed by a main opposition presidential candidate)[80]
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Iran
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates

A total of 14 countries[81] have formally applied to join BRICS, listed as follows:[82]

•  Algeria[79] (applied in 2022) (Expected to join in next expansion)[83]
•  Bahrain[84]
•  Bangladesh[85] (applied in 2023)
•  Belarus[86] (applied in 2023)
•  Bolivia[87] (applied in 2023)
•  Cuba (applied in 2023)
•  Honduras (applied in 2023)
•  Kazakhstan[88] (applied in 2023)
•  Kuwait (applied in 2023)
•  Palestine (applied in 2023)
•  Senegal[89] (applied in 2023)
•  Thailand[89]
•  Venezuela (applied in 2023)
•  Vietnam (applied in 2023)

In addition, Afghanistan,[77] Angola,[90] Comoros, DR Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, [91] Myanmar, [92] Nicaragua,[93] North Korea, [94] Pakistan, Sudan, Syria,[95] Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, and Zimbabwe have expressed interest in membership of BRICS.[96] Morocco was alleged to have joined but denied that it had applied.[97]

The New Development Bank (NDB), formally referred to as the BRICS Development Bank,[98] is a multilateral development bank operated by the five BRICS states. The bank's primary focus of lending is infrastructure projects[99][100] with authorized lending of up to $34 billion annually.[100] South Africa hosts the African headquarters of the bank.[101] The bank has a starting capital of $50 billion, with wealth increased to $100 billion over time.[102] Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa initially contributed $10 billion each to bring the total to $50 billion.[101][102] As of 2020, it had 53 projects under way worth around $15 billion.[103]

In 2021, Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay joined the NDB.[104]

The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for providing protection against global liquidity pressures.[99][102][105] This includes currency issues where members' national currencies are being adversely affected by global financial pressures.[99][105] Emerging economies that experienced rapid economic liberalization went through increased economic volatility, bringing an uncertain macroeconomic environment.[106] The CRA competes with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Along with the New Development Bank, it is an example of increasing South-South cooperation.[99] It was established in 2015 by the BRICS countries. The legal basis is formed by the Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, signed in Fortaleza in July 2014. With its inaugural meetings of the BRICS CRA Governing Council and Standing Committee, held on 4 September 2015, in Ankara, Turkey[107] it entered into force upon ratification by all BRICS states, announced at the 7th BRICS summit in July 2015.

At the 2015 BRICS summit in Russia, ministers from BRICS nations initiated consultations for a payment system that would be an alternative to the SWIFT system. The stated goal was move to settlements in national currencies.[108] The Central Bank of Russia highlighted the main benefits as backup and redundancy in case there were disruptions to the SWIFT system.[109]

China also launched its own alternative to SWIFT: the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, which enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions.[110] India also has its alternative Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS), as do Russia SPFS and Brazil Pix.

BRICS countries committed to study the feasibility of a new common currency or similar, at the 2023 BRICS summit in South Africa.[111][112][113] Fair and easier international trade as well as a major reduction in costs of transactions would be some of the reasons why the countries could forge a currency union.[114]