From this Monday (1st), the Brics group, which previously consisted of South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India and China, will be expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
The decision was made at the Johannesburg Summit in August 2023. To everyone's surprise, the “Club of Five” managed to agree “not only on the criteria for admitting new members, but also on which countries to keep,” recalls RFI Johannesburg correspondent Claire Bargeles.
But instead of six new participants, there are now only five, as the new Argentine President Javier Milei wants to reposition his country ideologically and refuses such an alliance to Argentina, which was initially invited to join.
The following countries have officially joined the BRICS
• 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
• 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
• 🇪🇬 Egypt
• 🇮🇷 IranBRICS (@BRICSinfo) January 1, 2024
Reinventing the Brics financial system
Strengthening the group, which now represents nearly half of the world's population and nearly a third of the planet's GDP, should allow it to continue calling for a multipolar world and a fairer international order.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are still heavily dependent on the dollar. And China, for example, the world's second largest economy, does not have voting rights commensurate with its weight.
Therefore, in order to reduce their dependence on the United States and international financial institutions, the BRICS+ countries are seeking to “dedollarize” their economies. This is particularly true for countries such as Russia and Iran, which are subject to strong US sanctions.
However, it will also be more difficult to reach an agreement with such a diverse group that is still largely dominated by China. An example of this was the recent divergence of interests at a summit on the war in Gaza.
The first major meeting of this new group with the ten BRICS members is planned for October 2024 in the Russian city of Kazan.