After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, BRICS will be the first international gathering that Putin will take part in. Although the 15th BRICS summit took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, he could not attend in person as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, commissioner for human rights, in March 2023. BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.. Last year, they invited nations like Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join BRICS. However, Argentina, under Javier Milei, has pulled out from BRICS, and Saudi Arabia has remained non-committal. With the inclusion of new members, BRICS has become BRICS+.
The 16th BRICS summit is currently taking place in Kazan, Russia, from the 22nd to 24th of October, with the heads of state of the participating members. This will be the first meeting for countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE. This is a clear sign to the West that Russia is not isolated. Russia, as the host, is expected to push for de-dollarization and introduce a new system called BRICS Pay, designed to facilitate the exchange of financial information between central banks of allied nations, serving as an alternative to the Western interbank system SWIFT. This will act as a counterpart to SWIFT, facilitating international settlements.
BRICS accounts for around 30 percent of the world’s land area, 45 percent of the world’s population and 20 percent of global trade. The grouping has entered a new era of greater BRICS cooperation, and interest continues to grow as other nations like Malaysia, Thailand, and Turkey are eager to join BRICS. India currently opposes further expansion of BRICS and supports the creation of a category of “BRICS partner countries” that would not have voting rights.
Indian officials, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the matter, explained that this approach is intended to prevent BRICS from becoming an anti-U.S. group dominated by China and Russia. The UAE is also being very cautious about joining BRICS, as it does not want to position itself against the United States. The large number of countries expressing interest in joining BRICS reflects a growing desire for international relationships that are not dependent on the West, according to Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a think tank that advises the Kremlin. “For now, everyone just wants to see what they can gain from this,” he said
