BRICS expands from 5 to 11

BRICS expands from 5 to 11

Subject :International Relations

Section: International Groupings

Context: Leaders of the BRICS decided to expand the grouping and admit six new members.

More about the news:

• BRICS member countries declared expansion of the grouping by welcoming six new countries into the fold.
• Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina will become part of BRICS with effect from January 1, 2024.

More about 15th BRICS Summit:

• The 15th BRICS Summit was scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South-Africa.
• The theme of the Summit was “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism” 
• This was the first in­-person summit since 2019 ,the COVID­19 pandemic and  Russian invasion of Ukraine.

What’s the big item on the agenda:

• The main items on the agenda were to attract attention for their potential for a greater geopolitical consolidation of the grouping,and a plan to expand the membership of BRICS.
• Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, and at least 19 have formally applied for membership such as Argentina, Mexico from Latin America; Nigeria, Algeria, from Africa; Saudi Arabia, UAE, from West Asia; Kazakhstan from Central Asia; Bangladesh and Afghanistan from South Asia.
• The leaders also took forward the earlier talks on intra­ BRICS trading in national currencies, 

What is BRICS:

• BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• In 2001, the British Economist Jim O’Neill coined the term BRIC to describe the four emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
• The grouping was formalized during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers’ in
• South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS

Some Facts about BRICS:

• BRICS is an important grouping bringing together the major emerging economies from the world, comprising:
• 41% of the world population.
• 24% of the world GDP 
• Over 16% share in world trade.
• Total combined area of 29.3% of the total land surface of the world

What are Few Initiatives of the BRICS:

• New Development Bank:
• During the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (Brazil) in 2014, the leaders agreed to set up NDB.
• The NDB became fully operational in 2016 with headquarters established in Shanghai.
• Each member holds an equal amount of shares 20% in the NDB.
• Contingent Reserve Arrangement:
• In 2014, the BRICS governments had signed a treaty on the setting up of the contingent reserve arrangement
• The arrangement is aimed at forestalling short-term balance of payments pressures, providing mutual support and strengthening financial stability of the BRICS nations.
• BRICS Payment System:
• BRICS countries are trying to create a payment system as an alternative to the SWIFT payment system.
• This has taken on a new urgency as post Ukraine war, Russia has been frozen out of SWIFT.
• Customs Agreements:
• Customs agreement were signed to coordinate and ease trade transport between BRICS countries
• Launched of Remote Sensing Satellite:
• A Remote Sensing constellation of satellites has been launched – with 6 satellites including 2 from India, 2 from China, 1 from Russia, and 1 Brazil-China collaboration