On Monday, this week, a three-day meeting for heads of state of the 40-member nations of BRICs kicked off in South Africa. This is the 15th such annual summit to be held, but this time it centred on the topic of Africa in relation to the grouping with the chosen theme of BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism. All premiers of the original member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) were physically present, except for Russian President Vladmir Putin who attended virtually, but sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs in his stead. 

BRICs is seen as an important platform for global collaboration among emerging markets and developing nations. If one looks at the member states, particularly the central players, one can see that their economies are expected to grow significantly in terms of GDP in the next 25 years. Their combined economic power potential gives the member countries the hope that they can shake off the domination, both politically and commercially, of western countries who are able to shape global economic policy through similar intergovernmental forums such as the G7 and G20.

However, the meeting comes on the heels of a number of issues. The first being that when Russia announced in May this year that Putin would be physically attending the meeting, there were a number of calls to arrest him following an international warrant of arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his invasion of Ukraine, a call that South Africa did not appear ready to heed and instead welcomed him to the summit. But, Putin eventually pulled out of attending in person. 

In addition, South Africa among other African countries abstained from voting in the First United Nations (UN) Ukraine resolution held in August 2023 in a move that surprised the west as they had expected support for the resolution from African countries. 

There are also suspicions by the United States (US) that South Africa is aiding Russia by supplying it with arms, after a Russian ship, Lady R, was spotted in South African waters and a Russian plane that had been spotted in zones of conflict landed in South Africa. 

Spotlight Issues

The summit discussed various issues of interest to the member states in the current geopolitical climate, such as expansion of the club membership to include other countries namely, Iran Ethiopia, Argentina, and Egypt starting from as early as next year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have been invited to join the club. Growth in membership is crucial to countering the influence of G20 countries and to expanding the power and reach of both China and Russia, especially in other continents. Member states are also particularly opposed to sanctions, which both Russia and China have experienced. 

Dedollarisation, however, took centre stage. BRICS countries have mused over the adoption of a common currency that would be an alternative to the dollar and the euro. As a starting point, attempts by Russia to sell oil using local currencies have been unsuccessful due to conversion issues. The New Development Bank, which was set up in 2015, is the vehicle established to serve initiatives in the bloc and could be a significant instrument in cutting dependency on the dollar by boosting the use of local currencies among member states. Putin, however, spoke of the process as inevitable, but no consensus was reached at the meeting. Saudi Arabia’s membership could however spur things forward.

Polarising issues

Even though there is a common goal to work on the issues mentioned above, there are other matters that are divisive to the member countries. One of the key concerns is the ideological differences among member states: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and China’s tense relationship with India over boundary conflicts and relationships with Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In addition, there is the question of the positioning of both in terms of influence and power. In fact, India’s membership stops China and Russia from growing too close. Due to these issues, BRICS is not able to achieve the consensus necessary to move forward, which exists among G20 countries, making it difficult to achieve its goals. Dedollarisation will therefore not be an easy goal to achieve.