A common feature that unites these five countries –
a constantly growing economy.
BRIC is an acronym for the developing nations of Brazil, Russia, India, and China – countries believed to be the future dominant suppliers of manufactured goods, services, and raw materials by 2050. As of 2010, South Africa joined the group, which is now referred to as BRICS.
BRICS is not a formal structure, rather it is a “club” on a world scale, within which developing countries exchange experience, develop joint projects, assist each other, both material and consulting.
* Based on World Bank data (2021)
14 Jul 2022
Three more countries set to join BRICS
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt plan to join BRICS, and their potential membership bids could be discussed and answered at next year’s summit in South Africa, said Purnima Anand, the Indian president of the organization.
“All these countries have shown their interest in joining [BRICS] and are preparing to apply for membership. I believe this is a good step because expansion is always looked upon favorably; it will definitely bolster BRICS’ global influence,” she claimed.
The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) account for over 40% of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s GDP. The bloc’s stated purposes include promoting peace, security, development, and cooperation globally, and contributing to the development of humanity.
Anand said the issue of expansion was raised during this year’s BRICS summit, which took place in late June in Beijing.
The BRICS Forum president said she hopes the accession of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt will not take much time, given that they “are already engaged in the process,” though doubts that all three will join the alliance at the same time.
The news of the three nations’ plans to join BRICS comes after Iran and Argentina officially applied for membership in late June, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh touting the bloc as a “very creative mechanism with broad aspects.”
14 Jul 2022
Trade among BRICS countries soaring.
China’s foreign trade with other BRICS member states amounted to 1.64 trillion yuan ($244 billion) in the first half of the year, up 14.1% in annual terms, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), as cited by the Global Times on Wednesday.
The data shows that the value of exports reached 817.18 billion yuan ($121 billion), jumping 20.6%. The value of imports was also up, by 8.3% to 825.82 billion yuan (around $123 billion).
GACC spokesperson Li Kuiwen said at a press briefing on Wednesday that China’s trade with other BRICS nations has intensified in recent years. He pointed out that trade turnover soared from 960.21 billion yuan ($143 billion) in 2009 to 3.17 trillion yuan ($472 billion) in 2021.
Chinese imports of energy products and agricultural goods have grown rapidly, data shows. Over the first six months of 2022, China’s total imports of crude oil, natural gas and coal, and other energy products from other BRICS countries reached 298.98 billion yuan ($45 billion), an increase of 53.3%. Imports of agricultural products by the country rose 15.6% to 185.46 billion yuan ($28 billion).
BRICS, a five-nation economic bloc that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was established in 2006. It has more than a 16% share in global trade and represents more than 40% of the world’s population.
8 July 2022
West is struggling to compete with Asia and Africa
The West is finding it more difficult to compete with Asian and African countries as people in these regions are beginning to understand the value of their own natural resources, claims the Indian president of the BRICS international forum in St. Petersburg, Purnima Anand.
Anand argued that for a long time Western nations had been trying to establish the supremacy of the US dollar by exploiting the human and natural resources of other countries and continents. However, she noted, as the level of education increases, the people of Asia, Africa and other regions are beginning to understand the value of their own natural resources and their own development potential, and are now beginning to compete with Europe.
“The competition in Europe which they had among European countries is now flowing towards other continents and other countries,” stated Anand, claiming that the EU is beginning to lose competitiveness.
In her view, the countries of BRICS are progressing and it is “high time” they can demonstrate their development policies.
The international forum president also highlighted how the BRICS group played a “very important role” during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that, now, amid the conflict in Ukraine, BRICS nations are “trying to make the balance.”
On the topic of Ukraine, Anand noted how the situation has led to dire consequences for people around the world and how sanctions imposed by the West against Russia have backfired.
“American sanctions on Russia spoil all traditional rules of trading all over the world,” she stated, highlighting that Russia was not just trading with Europe, but with numerous countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
When the sanctions started then the whole world suffered […] because all transportation and logistic systems just came to a stop,” she said.
Anand insisted that American sanctions on Russia need to be urgently reviewed and that the conflict in Ukraine will never be resolved unless the US and NATO take it “seriously.”
She also mentioned how the EU has a hard time adapting to the changing political landscape due to its reliance on the US for its policies. The EU has always had “internal democratic problems” and inflation has long been an issue for the union, Anand observed, adding that the conflict in Ukraine significantly exacerbated these issues.
As a solution to these problems, the EU is adopting policies that are backed by the US, which, Anand claims, cannot work because different countries require different approaches.
“Every country cannot be the same, all people’s problems cannot be the same,” she insisted, adding that Europe has always thought that what it decides and does is “for the whole world.” “But it is not true,” Anand said, adding that the West should truly understand what problems people around the globe actually face and what can be done to help them.
She stated that the policies the EU has adopted thus far have culminated in “results that are not in the favor of the people,” noting that people in the bloc are suffering as prices on everything from gas to general costs of living are increasing.
27 June 2022
Iran and Argentina see potential in the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa bloc
The Islamic Republic of Iran has officially submitted its application to join the group, the foreign ministry in Tehran announced on Monday. The move comes after the Iranian president addressed the BRICS summit last week, noting that the group accounts for up to 30% of the world’s GDP and 40% of the global population.
Argentina has also applied to join BRICS. President Alberto Fernandez on Friday urged the creation of cooperation mechanisms that could represent the alternative to ostensibly private institutions run by – and in the interest of – the West.
During the session on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the five-member group was working on setting up a new global reserve currency “based on a basket of currencies of our countries.”
The BRICS Bank Strategy for 2018-2021
The New Development Bank (NBD), popularly known as the Bank of BRICS, was founded in 2014 and officially launched the following year. The institution has authorized capital of US$ 100 billion and can make annual loans of up to US$ 34 billion and aims to stimulate the development of emerging countries. The financial contribution and voting power of each member country are divided equally. The Bank’s headquarters is in Shanghai, China.
The construction of infrastructure for sustainable development consists of the main execution axis, receiving two-thirds of the funds available. The strategic plan involves five thematic areas: 1) clean energy; 2) irrigation, water management, and sanitation; 3) transportation and logistics; 4) sustainable urban development, and 5) cooperation and integration among member countries. The institution intends to gradually open its structure for the participation of new members, aiming at greater geographic and cultural diversity.
Of the seven projects and loans made to date, only one is not from the renewable energy area. It is intended to expand the project network to 75 by the year 2021, each with an average value of US$ 200 million. The first bonds issued by the NBD were demonstrated in the Chinese currency (Yuan-RenmmM), contributing to the process of internationalization of the same. The institution already has a partnership with the World Bank and intends to expand its network to induce other multilateral banks.
BRICS countries to create own payment system to cut dependence on USD
The five major emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – are developing a joint new payment system called BRICS Pay.
BRICS countries want to create a special online wallet to integrate the payment systems of its five member states, with Russia’s wealth fund reportedly working on the project alongside its partners from China and India, who have the necessary technologies to launch the system.
The service will be similar to existing Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, allowing users to pay with a smartphone app no matter what currency the customer’s account is linked to. A special cloud platform is to be created to link BRICS countries’ national payment systems.
BRICS own payment system is to significantly reduce the dependence on transnational payment organizations, which is especially important amid geopolitical tensions considering SWIFT is based in Belgium, but its board includes executives from American banks with US federal law allowing the administration to act against banks and regulators across the globe. Consequently, the integration of the national payment systems is a top priority for the bloc given financial market volatility and the dollar rate.
Central banks of BRICS countries have been working on developing a joint payment space, and excluding South Africa, have their own domestic national payment systems – China has UnionPay, India developed RuPay and Brazil has ELO. Instead of SWIFT, the financial messaging system SPFS will work as a “gateway” that facilitates cross-border payments between 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries worldwide. In this sense, several states, including the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) countries and foreign banks are willing to join as an alternative to the traditional SWIFT sy stem. The first transaction on the SPFS network involving a non-bank enterprise was made in December 2017.