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What's the article about?
- It talks about the rising popularity of BRICS grouping despite its poor performance in the last few years.
Relevance:
- GS2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests;
- Prelims
Context:
- Despite the Ukraine war, polarised global climate, there is a rush to join the BRICS grouping among the nations.
- The writer examines the reasons behind such a rush in this article.
What is BRICS grouping?
- BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- The acronym “BRICS” was initially formulated in 2001 by economist Jim O'Neill, of Goldman Sachs, in a report on growth prospects for these economies.
- In 2006, the four countries initiated a regular informal diplomatic coordination, with annual meetings of Foreign Ministers at the margins of the General Debate of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
- This successful interaction led to the decision that the dialogue was to be carried out at the level of Heads of State and Government in annual Summits.
- The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation.
South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS. - BRICS does not exist in the form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
- The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
Analysis:
- Current dynamics:
- On the face of it, BRICS has been diminishing in stature over the past few years.
- On the one hand, there has been the increasing polarisation of the global order in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, the border clashes between India and China and the
- growing salience of groupings like the Quad for Delhi.
On the other hand, while Beijing’s economic and strategic clout has grown in the last decade or so, Moscow has declined considerably and recently, become the junior partner in the alliance with China. - However, at least two developments at last week’s BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting indicate that the Ukraine war has not dampened the appetite for multipolarity.
- Recent BRICS summit:
- In the recent BRICS summit, the two major issues before the ministers were the development of a common currency and the expansion of membership.
- Instead, according to the Joint Statement, “Ministers underscored the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions between BRICS as well as their trading partners.”
- But even trading in local currencies is not without hurdles. Negotiations between India and Russia are stuck because Moscow wants payments in dollars, as it does not import enough from India.
- Yet, despite the geo-political polarisation and internal contradictions, several countries are keen to join BRICS. These include major economies such as Turkey and Argentina, and energy powerhouses including Saudi Arabia.
- China's role:
- China is pushing for new members — an expanded BRICS is likely to deepen its influence vis a vis the West.
- That many of the countries are close to the US and the West also speaks of the perceived biases at other multilateral institutions: The joint statement points to the need for UN reform.
Way Forward:
- While India is committed – for both ethical and practical reasons – to a multipolar world and more representation of the Global South, its immediate interests and influence may suffer if China’s clout grows.
