BRICS Member Nations, Currency, Purpose, Headquarter, Summits, Meaning & Establishment

BRICS

According to Wikipedia, “BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa formed by the 2010 addition of South Africa to the predecessor BRIC.” The acronym “BRIC” or “the BRICs” was initially coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill. It described the fast-growing economies that would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050.

Member Nations

As mentioned above, BRICS includes five member nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Their key leaders are President Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, President Xi Jinping of China, and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced at the 15th BRICS Summit in August 2023 that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join the bloc. Full membership for the countries will take effect on January 1, 2024.

Currency

According to a report on Silkroadbriefing.com, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that there has been no discussion of a BRICS currency. The group is reportedly focusing on deepening trade with local currency for now.

Purpose

The original purpose of BRICS was to highlight investment opportunities, and it had not been a formal intergovernmental organization. However, they have increasingly formed into a more cohesive geopolitical bloc since 2009, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies.  Bilateral relations among the countries are conducted mainly based on non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit. Various commentators have praised and criticized them.

Headquarter

The BRICS headquarters is located in Shanghai, China.

Summits

The group has held 15 Summits since its establishment. The Summits are held annually. As BRIC, the group’s 1st formal summit was held in Yekaterinburg on 16 June 2009, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, in attendance. It was focused on improving the global economic situation, reforming financial institutions, and better cooperation between the countries in the future.

At each summit, the group elects one of the heads of state of the member countries to serve as President Pro Tempore of the BRICS. The current President Pro Tempore is Russia.

Meaning

BRICS is the acronym taken from the first letters of each member state involved to show its expansion.

Establishment

According to Wikipedia, “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. A full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 16 June 2009.” The states had originally come in the context of foreign investment strategies.

Their 1st formal summit was held in Yekaterinburg on 16 June 2009, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, in attendance. The summit focused on improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions. The countries also discussed how they could better co-operate in the future and how developing countries (3/4 of the BRIC members) could become more involved in global affairs. They later announced the need for a new global reserve currency.

After being formally invited by China to join (and subsequently accepted by other BRIC countries), South Africa officially joined BRICS in 2010. It was renamed BRICS to show the expansion of the group.

The BRICS reportedly account for about 41.5% of the world’s population and about 32.5% of the GDP. This makes it a critical economic engine. There are reports that only countries with over 100 million in population can join.