Pedestrians walk past banners with the logo of the upcoming 16th BRICS Summit at the Kazan Kremlin in Kazan, Russia, October 14, 2024. /CFP
BRICS, a key platform for collaboration among emerging markets and developing countries, is increasingly contributing to global economic growth through its focus on inclusive development and cooperation. By fostering economic cooperation and financial innovation, it is promoting a fairer global economic order.
In 2024, BRICS welcomed new members, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia, raising the number of member countries from five to 10. Other nations like Thailand, Malaysia and Nicaragua have also successively applied to join BRICS, looking to explore new avenues for economic development.
The expansion of BRICS demonstrates its growing appeal, especially among countries in the Global South, noted Wang Lei, director of the Center for BRICS Cooperation Studies at Beijing Normal University. He explained that the inclusion of African nations would drive their growth by leveraging shared experiences within BRICS, further enhancing the group's role in promoting global development.
The BRICS countries possess abundant natural resources and large consumer markets, which have fueled their rapid economic growth. In recent years, their combined economic output has steadily expanded, making them key contributors to global economic development.
With more than 40 percent of the world's population, BRICS countries account for 37 percent of global GDP, according to a report published in February 2024 by the World Governments Summit Organization, a global, neutral, non-profit organization.
The growing membership and the diversity of BRICS countries' interests reflect an effort to represent the Global South collectively, noted Taylor Fravel, a professor of political science and director of the MIT Security Studies Program, during an interview with MIT News. The group seeks to ensure that the interests of the developing world are recognized and taken into account, especially by the West.
By collectively advocating for the interests of emerging economies, BRICS represents a significant counterbalance to the influence of advanced industrialized economies, he added.
The New Development Bank, Shanghai, China, October 2, 2024. /CFP
A fairer global economic order
Since its establishment in 2009, BRICS has served as a platform for advancing transparency, fairness and equity in the global economic system. Member countries are committed to fostering a more inclusive and balanced governance framework, enhancing the representation of the Global South and advocating for financial reforms that better address the needs of developing nations.
Over the past decade, BRICS has expanded cooperation across multiple fronts, with the New Development Bank (NDB) playing a central role in mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development.
Established in 2015, the NDB complements existing multilateral and regional financial institutions by providing much-needed support to developing countries. In August this year, the NDB approved a loan of $1 billion to finance water and sanitation projects for low-income households in South Africa.
As of August 2023, the NDB has supported 98 investment projects worth approximately $33 billion. For 2023 and 2024 alone, it has lined up 76 new projects with a combined value of $18.2 billion, reflecting the bank's growing impact, as noted by NDB President Dilma Rousseff.
The NDB serves as a model of South-South cooperation, said Dima Al Khatib, director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. "It leverages infrastructure development to drive industrialization, stimulate economic growth and assist emerging markets and developing countries in achieving their development goals."
In 2021, the NDB expanded its membership, bringing in Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. According to Rousseff, the bank's General Strategy for 2022-2026 prioritizes further membership growth as a key objective.
"The inclusion of new members supports NDB's vocation of functioning as a true platform for cooperation between the countries of the Global South, because this strengthens its capital base and incorporates a wider array of trade relations and of diverse development projects," said Rousseff at the 15th BRICS Summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2024.
"This will enable the construction of a financial structure that bears the mark of multilateralism and a multipolar world. Multiple and diverse voices will be heard," she added.
The catalyst for the BRICS cooperation was reforming the global economic system, and they have made strides towards redefining it, according to the Global South Studies program at the University of Virginia. The initiatives like the NDB "provide tangible goods" to the Global South.
The 14th BRICS Economic and Foreign Trade Ministers' Meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 26, 2024. /CFP
Advancing multilateralism
Building on its commitment to multilateralism, BRICS has taken practical steps to foster economic cooperation. These include policy coordination and joint initiatives aimed at enhancing trade and investment opportunities among member states.
One notable example is the 14th BRICS Economic and Foreign Trade Ministers' Meeting in Moscow in July this year, where participants agreed on implementing the consensus of the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference and increasing cooperation in areas such as global value chains, digital technologies and special economic zones. They also emphasized strengthening policy exchanges, capacity building and sharing best practices to unlock the potential of BRICS economic and trade cooperation.
BRICS should take the lead in practicing true multilateralism, said Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative, calling for efforts to safeguard the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, oppose protectionism and advance inclusive economic globalization.
Read more:
How BRICS expansion contributes to Global South's rise