Explainer: What is Brics, what does it do, and which countries have joined?

The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009; its creation was initiated by Russia

By AFP/Reuters

Published: Thu 24 Aug 2023, 6:16 PM

The Brics group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - is holding its 15th heads of state and government summit in Johannesburg between August 22 and August 24.

Here are some key facts about the bloc and its members.

Advertising

The acronym Bric, which did not initially include South Africa, was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009. Its creation was initiated by Russia.

The group is not a formal multilateral organisation like the United Nations, World Bank or the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

The heads of state and government of the member nations convene annually with each nation taking up a one-year rotating chairmanship of the group.

Who are the members?

Brazil, Russia, India and China are the founding members.

South Africa, the smallest member in terms of economic clout and population, was the first beneficiary of an expansion of the bloc in 2010 when the grouping became known as BRICS.

Together the countries account for more than 40 per cent of the world population and a quarter of the global economy.

Apart from geopolitics, the group's focus includes economic cooperation and increasing multilateral trade and development.

The bloc operates by consensus. All the Brics countries are part of the Group of 20 (G20) of major economies.

Which nations have joined Brics this year?

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that the Brics club of emerging nations will admit six new members, including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran, at the start of next year.

"We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to become full members of Brics. The membership will take effect from the first of January 2024," Ramaphosa told a summit in Johannesburg.

Calls to enlarge the Brics had dominated the agenda at its three-day summit and exposed divisions among the bloc over the pace and criteria for admitting new members.

But the group, which makes decisions by consensus, had agreed on "the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the Brics expansion process", said Ramaphosa.

Nearly two dozen countries had formally applied to join the club.

Some 50 other heads of state and government are attending the summit in Johannesburg, which concludes on Thursday.

ALSO READ: