New Delhi: Russia is hosting the annual BRICS summit in its southwestern city of Kazan. The summit began on October 22, 2024, and will be held for three days. The summit is happening at a time when Russia is engaged in a war with Ukraine. As the summit takes place, let us take a look at how the BRICS has evolved over the years.
How has BRICS evolved over the years?
BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In September 2006, the foreign ministers of the initial four BRIC nations, that is Brazil, Russia, India, and China met in New York City at the margins of the General Debate of the UN Assembly. On June 16, 2009, a full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in Russia’s Yekaterinburg.
The first formal summit of the group was held in Yekaterinburg and began on June 16, 2009. It was attended by the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The summit focused on improving the economic situation of the world and aimed to reform the financial institutions. The summit proved to be fruitful and marked the beginning of the organisation.
The joining of South Africa
In 2010, South Africa started the process of joining the BRIC group. It officially became a member of the group on December 24, 2010, after China formally invited it and the decision was subsequently accepted by other BRIC countries. The new name of the group was BRICS, with the ‘S’ denoting South Africa.
The proposed expansion of BRICS
In August 2023, it was announced that six countries, namely Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join the bloc. They were to become full members on January 1, 2024. However, the Argentine general election in November 2023 made Javier Milei the new President and the new regime confirmed that Argentina would not become a part of the BRICS.
