Gathered in China, the BRICS No Longer Want a Unipolar World Dominated by America.
New countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, could join the BRICS club.
Behind the China-Russia duo, the BRICS want to reaffirm their desire to increase their influence at the global level. The coalition of major emerging countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - no longer wants a unipolar world dominated by America in a hegemonic way, with Europe following in its wake.
The BRICS are thus preparing to welcome new members: Argentina, Nigeria, Kenya, and Indonesia have applied to join this club of five. A decision should be taken at the 14th BRICS summit.
Today, the five members of the BRICS represent 3.2 billion people, i.e. 42% of the world population, as well as 31% of the world GDP.
Almost parallel to this BRICS meeting, the G7 summit will be held from June 26 to 28, 2022 in the small German town of Krün, in Bavaria. It will be followed by another meeting at the highest level, that of NATO on June 29 and 30, 2022 in Madrid. These various meetings of a bipolar world where geopolitical and economic decisions would not be the prerogative of a single country or a single group of countries.
While the G7 and NATO are preparing to announce new proposals to increase pressure on Russia, after four months of the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be able to attend the BRICS summit. Three countries of the group, India, China, and South Africa, had abstained from the vote at the UN in May 2022, which called on Russia to stop its attack.
An alliance of circumstances bound to last
However, everything led us to believe that the BRICS were going to die their death, as the coalition was perceived as an alliance of circumstances with disparate interests. Brazil, for example, defends its export-oriented agriculture, while India supports its small-scale farmers above all else. In addition, New Delhi and Beijing are engaged in a trade war that has led India to impose numerous restrictions on Chinese exports. The two countries are also waging a sneaky war along their common border in the Himalayas. Finally, India is becoming a preferred destination for Western companies at the expense of a China which is considered increasingly closed.
Nevertheless, if these countries manage to get along, it is because there is something that unites them. There is undoubtedly a fault line between the BRICS, in which China plays a leading role, and the Western countries, led by the United States. The economic instruments available to BRICS members are also attractive.
In an interview with the Global Times, a Chinese online media close to the central power in Beijing, the Argentine ambassador based in Beijing states that “the cooperation mechanisms of the BRICS, including The New Development Bank, are based on mutual respect and a win-win principle.”
This financial institution was created in 2014 as an alternative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which have strict lending conditions for emerging and developing countries in difficulty.
Among the African countries, Nigeria, with a population of 206 million and significant energy resources, and Kenya, which would represent East Africa, could become members of the BRICS. Until now, South Africa, which joined the group in 2010, was the only country to represent the continent and its 1.4 billion inhabitants. In Asia, it is Indonesia that has proposed to join this club that is bound to become permanent.
The Indian paradox
In reality, many countries in Asia, Africa, and South America are already connected through China's Belt and Road Initiative, and their infrastructure projects are financed by the BRICS bank.
India is the biggest beneficiary. “Of the $30 billion spent on 80 projects, 21 are based in India and involve the development of infrastructure in the areas of water supply, transport, and energy, totaling $7.1 billion,” the Global Times points out.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, participates in person at the BRICS summit. A paradox, since he also participated at the end of May 2022 in a meeting of the Quad, a military cooperation alliance formed by the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, in Tokyo, against China.
Amid this paradox, India may finally be forced to choose sides in a world that is now multipolar.
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