TASS FACTBOX. On October 22-24, 2024, Kazan will host the 16th summit of BRICS, an informal international association established in 2006 at Russia's initiative. The forum gather representatives from more than 30 states, both BRICS members and invited countries. It is expected that the summit will focus on the situation in the world, interbank cooperation and settlements in national currencies. TASS FACTBOX editors have compiled a factsheet on the history of this association and its activities.
Creation and goals
The organization’s co-founders were Brazil, Russia, India and China. The acronym BRIC was derived from the names of the association’s member countries in English. After South Africa joined them in 2011, the association was renamed to BRICS. At the first summit in Yekaterinburg in June 2009, its goal was defined as "the development of consistent, active, pragmatic and open dialogue and cooperation between countries." Later, BRICS declared it was not a bloc or antagonist of any third parties.
BRICS expansion
At the meeting of the quintet’s foreign ministers in May 2022, held by video link, China came up with an idea of launching a process of BRICS expansion, with the aim of increasing its membership and influence in the world. By August 2023, about 20 countries had applied to join the organization. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, all BRICS members were in favor of the admission of like-minded countries: countries "that believe in multipolarity and in the need for more democratic and fair international relations."
At the 15th summit held in Johannesburg (South Africa) on August 22-24, 2023, it was announced that six countries — Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — would join the organization. However, in December 2023 Argentina changed its mind (after President Javier Milei came to power). Saudi Arabia's status in BRICS has not yet been clarified (according to Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, it will be determined at the Kazan summit). The other countries became full members of BRICS on January 1, 2024. The association began to be unofficially referred to as BRICS+.
At the moment, about 30 countries, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Venezuela, Pakistan, Malaysia, Azerbaijan and Turkey have applied for accession. The authorities of these countries note that BRICS membership will enable them to more effectively address various issues on the world stage and safeguard their national interests.
Summits and ministerial meetings
BRICS does not have a headquarters or a charter. It is essentially an informal club, or rather a platform for collaboration. The rotating presidency is held by the summit’s host country. Since 2013, the presiding country has been inviting countries close to it geographically and geopolitically to participate in the summits. Regular negotiations are held at the level of foreign ministers, finance, health, education, science and agriculture ministers, and secretaries of security councils. Since 2015, the BRICS civil, parliamentary and youth forums, as well as media summits have been held. Today there are more than 20 negotiating platforms within the BRICS framework, covering such areas as energy efficiency, climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and the activities of international financial institutions.
Business, Economic and Financial Activities
To date, the BRICS countries have established several structures in the business and financial sphere, including the Exchange Alliance (2011), the Business Council and the Council of Centers of Expertise (2013). Since 2011, the BRICS Business Forum has been organized to strengthen trading, business, investment and production ties among the BRICS member countries. In 2014, the BRICS New Development Bank was established with its headquarters in Shanghai (China). Its share capital is $100 billion. The Bank is designed to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS countries and developing countries. Since the start of its operations, it has approved 96 projects worth $32.8 billion. The Bank works in conjunction with the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (the agreement was signed in July 2015).
Since 2015, the summits have been adopting a key document in the field of economic interaction - the five-year Economic Partnership Strategy. The latest was approved in November 2020.
On September 7, 2021, at the BRICS Partnership for a New Industrial Revolution forum in Xiamen, China, the members of the association signed a package of agreements on 28 projects with a total investment of 13.4 billion yuan (about $2 billion). They cover such areas as industry, services, software, technology services, logistics, trade and economy.
On October 18, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the BRICS countries were working on the organization of financial information exchange among central banks, which will become an analogue of and alternative to SWIFT (the international interbank system for transferring information and making payments).
In 2017-2022, trade turnover among the BRICS countries, according to Bloomberg, increased by 56% to $422 billion. In July 2024, Russia’s Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said that mutual trade among the BRICS countries reached almost $678 billion a year.
Education and science
The Scientific Council has been functioning since 2013. In September 2017, the BRICS Network University (established in 2015), which includes about 60 universities (among them 12 Russian, including the Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University and Urals Federal University), began operating. The main subjects of educational and research programs are economics and energy; IT and information security; ecology and climate change and water resources. This educational institution is headquartered at the Urals Federal University in Yekaterinburg. Since 2017, at Russia’s initiative, the BRICSMATH.COM online mathematics Olympiad has been held in the BRICS countries (organized by the Russian online educational platform Uchi.ru.). In October 2017, the BRICS Network Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology opened in Ekaterinburg. In the fall of 2018, the BRICS Baikal Institute started operating at the Irkutsk National Research Technical University, which trains personnel in such fields of knowledge as environmental engineering and clean energy; sustainable innovation economy; international business; and digital technologies. Since 2019, BRICS Energy Research Platform meetings have been organized with the participation of representatives from relevant government ministries, companies and research organizations. Its mission is to develop coordinated energy policies and strategies. In September 2024, the BRICS ministers of labor and employment adopted a joint declaration in which they agreed, among other things, to take steps to develop affordable and continuous vocational training. On October 17-18, 2024, the BRICS University Presidents Conference was held in Moscow. It was the first event of this kind.
Culture, sports and health care
BRICS film festivals have been held since September 2016, and festivals of theater schools since 2017. In August 2020, at Russia’s initiative, the first meeting of sports ministers was convened. It approved a memorandum of cooperation, envisaging BRICS sports games, cooperation in the field of sports and organization of sports recreation and leisure. The first BRICS Games were held in Kazan on June 12-23, 2024, with 27 sports included in the program.
In 2020, against the background of the coronavirus-caused pandemic Russia suggested considering the creation of an early warning system for mass infections and biological threats. In May 2022, at a meeting of health ministers, Russia initiated the establishment of cooperation among professional medical associations and the eventual creation of the BRICS Medical Association.
Other tracks
On September 4, 2020, a draft anti-terrorism strategy was agreed upon (it was approved at the 12th summit on November 17, 2020). On October 15 of the same year, the first BRICS Solutions Awards competition of the best solutions and practices of the BRICS countries in various spheres was held under Russia’s auspices. Its goal was to disseminate successful projects aimed at improving the quality of life in the member countries.
In August 2021, the heads of the BRICS space agencies inked an agreement on the exchange of Earth remote sensing data. The agreement provides for cooperation in creating a virtual cluster of remote sensing satellites and exchanging data. On May 25, 2022, the first meeting of the BRICS Joint Committee on Space Cooperation was held via videoconference. At the meeting, representatives of the agencies concerned approved the documents regulating the work of the new committee, as well as information exchange procedures and technical requirements.
On June 21, 2024, at the BRICS+ International Cities Forum in Kazan, Russia initiated the establishment of the Association of Cities and Municipalities. In the same month, the participants in the BRICS Chief Justices Forum in Sochi signed a joint statement, one of its main ideas being the declared intention to seek the uniformity of judicial practices. On October 20, 2024, the first BRICS Scientific and Educational Congress on Ecology and Climate Change opened at the federal territory Sirius. More than 400 leading experts from Russia, India, Brazil, Iran and Ethiopia are taking part in the event, which will last until October 21.
Statistics
In 2023, the share of the BRICS countries’ GDP, according to the World Bank, was 26% (that of the G7 countries — 43.7%) and the real (purchasing power parity, PPP) GDP — 31.5% (G7 — 30%); 70% of the contribution to the total GDP of BRICS was provided by China. India accounted for 13%, Russia for 8%, Brazil for 7% and South Africa for 2%. After the expansion of the association, its share increased to 35% of the global GDP at PPP. Such data (based on calculations relying on the results of 2023) were mentioned in January 2024 by the Bank of Russia governor, Elvira Nabiullina. The BRICS+ countries account for 46% of the world’s population (8.1 billion).