The BRICS Summit, hosted by South Africa, carried many meaningful messages, mostly to the United States of America and European countries. The most important of these messages was what Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed: that getting rid of the dollar as a global currency is an irreversible issue. He also said that the group will work to find better financial settlement mechanisms, away from Western ones, because the BRICS countries are loosening their attachment to the dollar.
The group also launched its new development bank, which has become a reliable alternative to Western financial institutions. The bank has an important role in strengthening economic interdependence between the countries of the group. It was also emphasized that cooperation between the BRICS group is based on mutual respect, and investment in the BRICS countries has increased by six times.
These messages cannot be understood in isolation from the extremely sensitive timing in which the summit was held amid unprecedented regional and international tensions. The group tried to contribute to drawing a map of world alliances after the Ukrainian-Russian war, believing that the world after the repercussions of that war would not be the same as before.
The BRICS group is diverse and multidimensional, as it includes the largest countries in the world in terms of population, economy, and geographical area. It also includes countries with cultural and linguistic diversity and significant differences in economics and development.
The goals of the BRICS group revolve around promoting trade and investment and strengthening political and diplomatic cooperation among its member states. The group also aims to enhance financial independence, develop the infrastructure of member states, and promote sustainable development. The group is also a platform for developing countries to find solutions to global issues and to enhance their role in international forums.
BRICS is a major economic power, as these countries account for nearly 42% of the world’s population and generate about 23% of the world’s GDP. China is the largest economy in the group, followed by India, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia. The BRICS group relies on the national currency in trade between its member states instead of the US dollar.
Free trade and investment measures are an important part of the BRICS goals. The group has a free trade program aimed at promoting trade among its member states and providing business and investment opportunities. The group also plans to establish a joint investment bank and a reserve fund to enhance financial cooperation and finance development projects in member states.
For Egypt, the economic changes the world is currently witnessing represent an opportunity to join the BRICS group, which some consider to be a counter-alliance and future rival of the Group of Seven major industrialized countries. However, the group has not turned into a strong economic and political bloc competing with the West and its allies so far.
At a time when the world is facing major economic challenges, Egypt is trying to search for sustainable solutions for its economy. Cairo aspires to join the “BRICS” group as one of the most important economic groupings in the world, especially in the wake of the global economic changes that have been taking place since the “Covid-19” pandemic and the supply chain crisis. These changes include rising energy and grain prices, as well as the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which is worsening day after day, with no end in sight.
Joining the BRICS group provides great economic opportunities, especially in terms of development, trade, and investment. The group is working to transform trade exchange into alternative currencies as much as possible, whether it is a national or a common currency that is being established. The government hopes to obtain low-cost financing and loans on easy terms, which can reduce the pressure on the Egyptian economy.
The BRICS group has proven its presence in global politics and its ability to drive global economic growth and innovation. The group seeks to develop a unified and constructive global governance model and to launch a common currency that enhances its influence and consolidates its position as a leading global power. The group has negotiating power capable of competing with the Group of Seven.
The group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is working to reshape the world order and shift the center of influence from the “North” to the “South”. In recent years, the group has received dozens of requests to join the alliance to get rid of the dominance of the dollar and find effective economic and financing alternatives and more diversified and independent trading systems.
Despite the huge differences among its member states, BRICS has succeeded in establishing itself as a forum to address critical global issues such as trade, finance, climate change, and energy security. It witnessed major political and economic transformations that enhanced its dynamism and the chances of its transition to a new global pole.
Achieving economic integration among the member states is one of the goals of the group, to develop its infrastructure and enhance growth opportunities based on innovation, advanced technology, and skills development. The member states also seek to provide effective means for granting and exchanging loans and providing support and assistance to each other in times of crisis. This frees them from the restrictions of borrowing from financial and international institutions that are controlled by the West. The group is also working on adopting local currencies in settling payments, which enhances intra-regional trade and reduces dependence on the dollar.
Globally, BRICS seeks to strengthen its position as a global economic power with negotiating weight capable of competing with the Group of Seven (G7), which accounts for 60 percent of global wealth. This is a prelude to creating a balanced, bipolar, or multipolar global economic system that breaks hegemony and control in drawing up public international policies and improves the global investment environment.
In this context, BRICS aims to achieve reform of international organizations in every sense of the word, starting with the United Nations Security Council and emerging organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It also wants to reconsider the rules governing the distribution of voting rights in these two organizations to enhance the participation of emerging economies.
On the list of the group’s priorities is activating international cooperation to solve common crises such as rationalizing energy use, combating climate change, and reducing the risks of natural disasters. It also aims to enhance cooperation in science, education, basic research, and technological development. Furthermore, it seeks to combat terrorism and settle international crises, the foremost of which is the Iranian nuclear file.
On the ground, BRICS has become an outlet and an attractive factor for southern countries to obtain loans supporting investment projects or to cover their liquidity needs. The group offers loans away from the harsh lending conditions of international and regional organizations.
On the other hand, the BRICS group faces many challenges, including the great disparity in development and economy among its member states and major challenges in the field of security and political stability in some member states.
However, the most important challenges facing BRICS expansion remain dependent on three things: The first is the strength of American pressure to prevent the candidate countries from joining a grouping that is not allied with Western economic systems, especially since several countries wishing to join are still in need of the assistance of various Western institutions. The second is to prevent provoking new conflicts between member states. Indeed, accepting new members carries with it additional resources and opportunities, but there are always fears of the impact of disputes between members and external interests. As for the third, it is represented in securing the political and economic positions between the countries of the group. For example, Turkey, which is a candidate for membership in BRICS, is a member of NATO, which may increase the complications regarding the extent of the convergence of views in the event of acceptance of membership.
Dr. Hatem Sadek: Professor at Helwan University
