It is not hyperbole to say that the 15th BRICS Summit, that wrapped-up today in Johannesburg, South Africa, was a historic event and a geopolitical milestone that is bound to have deep repercussions in the years to come.
Even before the summit there was drama and suspense, like French President Macron fishing for an invite and being snubbed, or the realization that Putin would not be there personally because of the ICC arrest warrant.
Add to that the successful Indian space mission that put a spacecraft in the Lunar surface, and the shock with Wagner PMC’s Prigozhin plane crash death, and you have the stuff history is made of.
Read more about the Summit here:
Russian Mercenary Wagner Group Chief Prigozhin Reported Killed in Crash of Plane Shot Down by Russia
As expected, the position to expand the club, sponsored by China and Russia, prevailed in the end – and six new members will be added in January 2024.
Reuters reported:
“The BRICS bloc of developing nations agreed on Thursday to admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.
The group’s leaders left the door open to future enlargement, potentially paving the way for the admission of dozens more countries motivated by a desire to level a global playing field they consider rigged against them.”
The new arrivals join the founding members China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, in a move that adds geopolitical clout to the group.
“‘This membership expansion is historic’, Chinese President Xi Jinping, the bloc’s most stalwart proponent of enlargement, said. ‘It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries’.”
Oil producers Saudi Arabia and UAE show are drifting away from the US orbit, with an ambition to become global powers in their own right.
Cyril Ramaphosa, South African President:
“BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous. […] We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow.”
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, via video link, stated that the BRICS club ‘is not competing with anyone’, but added that it’s also ‘obvious that this process of the emerging of a new world order still has fierce opponents’.
WATCH Putin on BRICS:
While some of the BRICS members are totally focused in fostering the creation of a ‘multipolar global order’, Brazil and India have both also been forging close ties with the West, in a move that they see as complementary to BRICS.
WATCH Modi talk about BRICS expansion:
The Guardian reported:
“The decision to admit Iran, also looking for a way to sidestep sanctions, represented a win for Putin and Xi, helping give the group a more anti-western, non-democratic tinge. They prevailed over the more cautious approach of the other members, who prefer to portray the group as non-aligned.
[…] Nearly two dozen countries had formally applied to join the group, but there had to be consensus among its existing five members for candidate countries to be admitted.”
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The expansion is significant, because with the new members – especially the major oil producing ones – BRICS represent a much more bigger share of the global economy and global population.
Read more about BRICS Summit Day 1:
Russian Mercenary Wagner Group Chief Prigozhin Reported Killed in Crash of Plane Shot Down by Russia
Read more about BRICS Summit Day 2:
Russian Mercenary Wagner Group Chief Prigozhin Reported Killed in Crash of Plane Shot Down by Russia