BRICS Summit 2024

BRICS FAQs

• Which countries are part of BRICS?

  Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE are the nine member countries of BRICS. Saudi Arabia participates as an invited member, but it not an official member.

• What is BRICS and its purpose?

  BRICS is an acronym that refers to a geo-economic group of nine major emerging economies. The formation of BRICS was largely driven by a desire to increase cooperation and collaboration among these major emerging economies on economic, political and global governance issues.

• Why was BRICS formed?

  BRICS was formed as an economic grouping of developing countries in order to facilitate greater trade, diplomatic and security relations between the five member countries. In so doing, it seeks to offer a counterpoint to western-dominated economic institutions (such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund) and organisations.

• Is BRICS a military alliance?

  Unlike NATO, BRICS is not a military alliance, nor a security agreement. It is an international grouping of five major developing nations that cooperate along matters of economic development, trade and political dialogue.

• When was BRICS formed?

  BRICS was formed in December 2010 with the addition of South Africa to the former BRIC bloc. At first, ‘BRIC’ was just a loose term coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to refer to the rapid growth of the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. But by 2006, and especially 2009, the grouping evolved into a more formalised and coherent body.

• Is BRICS good for South Africa?

  BRICS has helped South Africa nurture new trade opportunities, access new markets and grow foreign direct investment within the bloc, mainly through the grouping’s New Development Bank. However, South Africa’s largest export destinations are dominated by non-BRICS countries: the United States, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.

• Will there be a BRICS currency?

  A BRICS currency is still a long way off for now. While there have been ongoing discussions around the issuing of a new currency to provide an alternative to the global reserve status of the US dollar and create a multipolar global trading system, this is not on the 2024 summit agenda.