The 16th summit of BRICS, the world's fastest growing economies, is being held in Russia. Heads of 28 countries including Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa are participating in this summit organized in the city of Kazan adjacent to Moscow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a speech here today.
This year BRICS is chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This economic bloc, which had 5 countries till last year, now has 9 countries. Also, UAE, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia are also going to join this year. 34 more countries have also expressed interest in BRICS membership.
In this story we will learn about the importance and power of BRICS. We will understand why America and Western countries are keeping an eye on it and why many countries want to become its members…
The BRICS countries made rapid progress while the West was in recession.
In 2008-2009 when the western countries were going through economic crisis. Even then, the economies of the BRICS countries were growing rapidly. As already mentioned its member countries are the fastest growing economies in the world. was The concept of its construction was based on 'rising economy'.
After the economic crisis, it has become clear that BRICS economies have the courage to grow rapidly and compete with Western countries. Earlier, Western countries controlled 60% to 80% of the world economy. Now the BRICS countries are gradually taking its place.
BRICS has now surpassed the European Union (EU) to become the third most powerful economic organization in the world. EU countries account for 14% of global GDP, while BRICS countries account for 27%. Apart from this BRICS also has its own separate bank known as New Development Bank.
Its headquarters is in Shanghai, China. This bank works to provide loans to member countries for government or private projects. Because of this, last year about 40 countries expressed their desire to join this organization.
BRICS is a big challenge for western countries
Recently, Russian President Putin informed about the ongoing discussion to create a separate payment system like Swift payment system for BRICS countries.
Earlier last year, Brazilian President Lula da Silva said during a summit that BRICS countries needed to create new currencies for trade. Why do we trade in dollars?
However, there has been no significant development in this matter yet. President Putin also dismissed discussions of creating a new currency at a recent press conference. He said that this is a very advanced matter, no decision is being taken on this at present.
However, some countries of the organization have certainly started trading in their national currencies. These countries include China and Russia. After the war in Ukraine, Russia has been insisting on the use of a national currency.
The reason for this is that America and Western countries have confiscated Russia's assets. Russia has suffered a lot because of this.
How much will the inclusion of new countries change? BRICS has grown in strength with the inclusion of new countries. Joining of UAE, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia has increased the market of BRICS countries. This is coupled with a fast growing economy like the UAE which has a global export potential of more than 2%.
With its coming together with these countries, BRICS has increased its total land area and population. Apart from this, the joint military capability of this organization has also increased. However, BRICS is not a military organization.
34 countries expressed their desire to join BRICS
On October 18, before the BRICS summit, Russian President Putin said that 34 countries have expressed their desire to join BRICS. Earlier last year too, around 40 countries expressed their desire to participate. India's neighboring country Pakistan also officially applied to join it.
However, India is hesitant about its expansion. The main reason is that its membership rules have not yet been decided. At present, the economy is the mainstay of the BRICS countries. In such a situation, the big question is whether new members should be inducted on the basis of economy or geography.
According to Professor Rajan Kumar, decision-making is easier due to fewer countries in BRICS. In such a situation, inducting more members into the organization will be a big challenge.
On the other hand, India also wants to be wary of China's intentions. Both China and Russia want to project the BRICS organization as an anti-Western bloc.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
