Together, the five countries are enormously powerful. The inhabitants of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) make up 45 per cent of the world’s people, and the countries account for around 25 per cent of the world’s total gross domestic product. But the BRICS countries have not always been able to cooperate well. India and China argue over borders. Brazil has fluctuated a lot between very different presidents. And Russia has a war focus at the moment. Nevertheless, BRIKS continues to cook and this week there is a summit in Johannesburg in South Africa. Vladimir Putin will not come, but 48 other heads of state who have been invited will. None of them are from the West. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergej Lavror is in South Africa. Photo: JACOLINE SCHOONEES/DIRCO / Reuters The subtitle of the summit, which lasts from Tuesday to Thursday, is “BRICS and Africa”, and there will be a long series of meetings focusing on how the various BRICS countries can contribute to more trade and development in Africa. Over the past year, Africa has become a sort of center of a struggle where the world’s major powers want as many African allies as possible. In addition, the AfCFTA free trade agreement is about to be rolled out, and the aim is to make trade and investment far easier across African countries. Is BRIKS more important than before? BRIKS has not existed for long. In 2001, the global investment bank Goldman Sachs pointed out that Brazil, Russia, India and China would become leading players in the world economy. Afterwards, someone thought that it would be good for these four countries to cooperate more. In 2006, the table was set for the first summit, and in 2010, South Africa was invited into the heat. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev, China’s President Hu Jintao, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma at the summit in China in 2011. Photo: Nelson Ching / AFP For the past 13 years, BRICS be a meeting place, where the five participating countries have in common that they want to change international trade. A number of analysts believe that the current situation, with extensive economic sanctions against Russia, and the increasingly tense superpower struggle between China and the USA, can contribute to BRICS becoming more relevant. The increased level of conflict between the world’s major powers may lead to a stronger will among the BRICS countries to push more financial power away from the USA and challenge the current financial system. In that case, they have to use the next week to find out how to stand more together and move more in the same direction. Desire for new rules of the game in world trade Reforms and changes in international trade are high on BRIKS’ agenda. Several countries in the global south have wanted to change the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both of which are important financial institutions controlled by the West. The desire for such changes has, not surprisingly, met with resistance in the West. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva is criticized by BRICS for setting too strict requirements for loans and financial support. Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP The answer from BRIKS has so far been to establish an alternative: An own development bank. Criticism of the World Bank and the IMF has been that they set too strict requirements for the recipients of loans and financial support. A recent example of the World Bank also making political demands is the halt in payments to Uganda. The new, strict anti-gay laws led the World Bank to put an interim stop to support. An economy like the Ugandan one notices this very well. But as a response, BRIKS has started an alternative development bank which saw the light of day in 2016. The idea is that the “global south” should have several alternatives to choose from. In July, Uganda passed one of the world’s strictest anti-LGBT laws. Support markings like this one in 2014 have become more dangerous in recent years. Photo: Rebecca Vassie / AP The Development Bank’s stated goal is to be able to take more account of local laws, as well as disburse money more efficiently than the World Bank. The bank has received criticism for being too transparent in its operations, but has plans to continue growing. The aim is therefore to reduce the control the West has had through the global financial system. Another measure that is on the table is a new currency that could make world trade less dependent on the US dollar. It is Brazil that is most eager for the proposal, but there are many indications that the whole thing has been put on hold. And since several of the BRICS countries have large dollar reserves today, it is not a given that they will participate in measures that could weaken the dollar. Time to invite more people in? The topic that has received the most attention ahead of the summit is a possible expansion of BRIKS. Around 40 countries have shown an interest in joining BRIKS, and around 20 countries are said to have sent applications. The fact that becoming a member of BRIKS is so interesting for many countries has been interpreted as a sign of BRIKS’ increasing importance. Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Iran are some of the countries that want to become part of the community. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the Revolutionary Guard. The country is one of around 40 that could consider joining BRIKS. Photo: WANA NEWS AGENCY / Reuters But regarding the question of an expansion, there are quite different opinions within BRIKS, and it would be surprising with an expansion already this week. Opening up to new members could lead to the interests of the various member countries spreading even more than today. Although the great interest from the applicant countries is something positive and a vitamin injection for the BRICS countries, it is unclear how the countries position themselves for expansion. China and Russia are countries that will benefit from having more people on the team, and thus a greater foothold in international politics. At the same time, there is a danger that even more conflicting interests within BRICS could lead to the member countries not wanting to commit as much in the future if they think the cooperation is going in the wrong direction. In that case, an extension will weaken, and not strengthen, BRIKS. South Africa’s Putin headache It was long a big question whether Vladimir Putin would travel to South Africa, which is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Putin is wanted by the war crimes tribunal, and would have to be arrested if South Africa were to live up to its obligations as a member of the ICC. Demonstrators protested against the Russian president in Johannesburg ahead of the summit. Photo: Denis Farrell / AP Saka put the South Africans in a bind. After looking for ways to avoid arresting Putin, the parties finally landed on what they call a “mutual agreement” that Putin joins the line from Moscow. For South Africa, it is still a difficult exercise to balance between the world’s great powers. They would prefer to cooperate with everyone, and demand that it be accepted by others. Last Sunday, a few days before the BRICS meeting, President Ramaphosa came out and made it clear that they would not allow themselves to be swayed by major powers and be pushed in one direction or the other. South Africa has recently said that it wants an EU summit, and until recently has also had close contact with the United States.
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