A historic event took place based on the results of the XV BRICS summit, held from August 22 to 24, 2023 in Johannesburg (South Africa) – the leaders of Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa reached an agreement to expand the international union up to ten members by inviting Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE. Argentina, in its turn, chose not to join after the new President Javier Miley came to power.
According to representatives of the BRICS member countries, the main features of the union are the personal right of each state to determine common goals and the absence of a dominant country that would dictate its terms to the rest of the participants. The union is based on the principles of multipolarity, the interdependence of the economies of countries, the priority of international law in strengthening peace and stability, as well as collectivity in solving global problems. The commodity turnover of the BRICS countries is growing by 20-30% annually. Experts believe that by 2040, the production volumes of the BRICS and G7 countries will be equal.
The sanctions, which imply the freezing of currency reserves of the Central Bank of Russia and the disconnection of a number of banks from the SWIFT system, gave the BRICS countries an imput to create currency blocks through which countries will trade among themselves bypassing the dollar. Attempts by the United Kingdom and the United States to isolate Russia politically and economically through pressure on its main partners are failing. BRICS countries are taking more confident and influential positions in the international arena. The Association of five states is successfully functioning precisely due to the fact that all its participants complement each other favorably. Therefore, the BRICS group is becoming an attractive and important international union. Today , BRICS countries account for 23% of the global economy and 18% of global trade in goods. Russia, China, India and Brazil are among the ten largest countries in the world in terms of population (3.41 billion people), area (45,726,508 km2) and GDP. To replace the International Monetary Fund, the BRICS countries plan to create a pool of currency reserves with an infusion of huge amounts of money (Russia – $ 38 billion, China – $ 21 billion, Brazil – $ 18 billion, India – $ 18 billion, South Africa — $ 5 billion). In 2024, Russia assumed the presidency of BRICS. This year, the countries of the union decided not only to expand their club, but also to deepen cooperation. The conversation is not only about money and the economy. They talked about foreign policy, the fight against terrorism and other global issues. According to the statement of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin: “It is in this vein, focusing on positive creative cooperation with all interested states, that the Russian presidency of BRICS will operate in 2024 under the motto “Strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.” Today, the United Kingdom and other G-7 members have forgotten about the development of the union, getting carried away by the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. BRICS is confidently moving towards its goal of creating a new world order.
