Tag: BRICS summit

  • 30% of world’s GDP to be controlled by BRICS

    30% of world’s GDP to be controlled by BRICS

    Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been officially approved as full members of the emerging economies consortium known as BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

    South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa disclosed this unanimous decision during a Heads of State press briefing on the final day of the 15th BRICS Summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. This expanded membership will take effect on January 1, 2024.

    With this inclusion, the BRICS economic alliance will collectively exert influence over approximately 30 percent of the global GDP. Notably, China leads the group with a GDP of US$19.3 trillion, followed by India at US$3.7 trillion, Brazil at US$2.1 trillion, Russia at US$2 trillion, Saudi Arabia at US$1 trillion, and Argentina at US$0.6 trillion.

    The United Arab Emirates contributes US$0.4 trillion to this economic bloc, while South Africa and Egypt each possess US$0.4 trillion. Iran’s GDP stands at US$0.36 trillion, with Ethiopia completing the list at US$0.15 trillion.

    Collectively, this expanded BRICS consortium commands a combined GDP valued at US$30.51 trillion, representing 30 percent of the global economy.

    “As the five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been under discussion for quite a while. We have a consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow. We value the interest of other countries in building a partnership with BRICS,” Mr. Ramaphosa said.

    He added: “We have tasked our foreign ministers to further develop the BRICS partner-country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next summit”.

    According to sources, the aggregate gross domestic product of the five BRICS countries exceeds that of the G7 in terms of buying power parity. The BRICS nations collectively account for 26% of the world’s nominal GDP.

    3.2 billion people, or 41% of the world’s population, live in the BRICS countries together, and they occupy 26.7 percent of the planet’s land area.

    Comments on expansion

    China President Xi Jinping, commenting on the expansion, said: “I welcome all the new members of the BRICS organisation. This membership expansion is historic, it shows unity and meets the demands of the growing world. I am confident that if we work with a common interest and in unity, we will reach greater heights”.

    The action was praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also commended South Africa for holding the conference successfully.

    “On the 15th anniversary of BRICS, we have decided to expand it. India has always believed in the expansion of BRICS because we believe it will give us a new impetus. I would like to congratulate the new members of BRICS. India has ancient ties with all the new member countries. The expansion of BRICS and modernisation shows that all world institutions should change with time,” he said.

    For his part, President Vladimir Putin, who attended the summit virtually, said: “With the efforts they [leaders] have made, I would like to note that it turned out that this was a unique diplomatic mastery— including BRICS expansion. I would like to call for more expansion of BRICS around the world. We will also establish the procedures so that BRICS continue to grow”.

  • Putin declines to confirm Prigozhin’s alleged demise in an aircraft accident

    Putin declines to confirm Prigozhin’s alleged demise in an aircraft accident

    Despite attending the BRICS summit, Vladimir Putin avoided discussing the plane crash and the alleged death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner’s group, during his address to other global leaders.

    Putin did not talk about the topic and instead praised the South African president for the news that six countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina, are joining an economic alliance.

    A video showed him saying hello to the people before he gave his talk, according to MirrorOnline.

    When the accident occurred, Putin was seen having a good time at a concert that celebrated the anniversary of the Soviet troops’ win in the Battle of Kursk in World War II.

  • Bric’s closest friends consider forming new bonds

    Bric’s closest friends consider forming new bonds

    Smiles, hugs, and waves are friendly gestures. If there was an accidental pattern to the second day of the Brics summit, it was about friendship. Making new friends means finding and getting to know people who are not currently in our circle of friends. Keeping old friends means maintaining and nurturing the relationships we already have with people who have been our friends for some time.

    It all began with a fancy entrance and a family photo for the leaders before they went into private meetings to talk about adding more countries to their group.

    All Brics members agree that more countries should be allowed to join, but they are still divided on the number of countries and the speed at which new members should be accepted.

    With the Ukraine war happening, Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that becoming a member of Brics will help him prove to the West that he still has allies.

    He didn’t go to South Africa because there is a warrant for his arrest for crimes in Ukraine. Instead, he made a video to criticize Western powers.

    “I want to mention that the reason for the serious situation in Ukraine was some countries wanting to keep their power and control in the world. ”

    Chinese President Xi Jinping has given his approval/agreement. He wants the Brics group to grow faster: “We should let more countries join Brics and work together to make world leadership more fair and reasonable. ”

    However, it may not be a good idea for the other three countries to have more people.

    India and China have a disagreement about land ownership. Because of this, India will not want to let new members join who always support China. At the same time, it wants to keep its connections with the US and Australia, so they need to be cautious about who they side with.

    Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wants to make friends with everyone. He believes that Brics should focus more on the economy rather than trying to challenge the West’s power. He talked a lot about the idea of having a shared currency that Brics countries can use for trading.

    Lastly, but certainly not least, we have South Africa. This is the newest country to join our group of friends. It wants to avoid causing trouble and wants to keep on good terms with Western powers and Russia.

    Over 20 countries have requested to join the group, but they need to meet certain requirements to be accepted.

  • China’s Xi unexpectedly opted out significant BRICS event

    China’s Xi unexpectedly opted out significant BRICS event

    Chinese pioneer Xi Jinping on Tuesday suddenly skipped a trade gathering of the BRICS financial gather in South Africa, sending his commerce serve instep to provide a red hot discourse in his title that censured US authority.

    Xi, who arrived in Johannesburg on Monday for the yearly BRICS summit of major developing economies, was planned to convey a discourse at its commerce gathering on Tuesday evening nearby pioneers from India, Brazil and South Africa.

    But the Chinese pioneer fizzled to appear up at the occasion, with no official declaration or clarification from Beijing.

    Instep, his arranged explanation – peppered with thinly-veiled swipes at the Joined together States that have gotten to be a installation of Xi’s worldwide discourses – was examined out by Chinese Commerce Serve Wang Wentao.

    Within the explanation, Xi called for the world to maintain a strategic distance from sleepwalking “into the chasm of a modern cold war.”

    Without specifically specifying the US, the articulation said “some nation, fixated with keeping up its authority, has gone out of its way to cripple the developing markets, and creating countries.”

    “Whoever is creating quick, gets to be its target of control. Whoever is catching up, gets to be its target of obstruction. But this is often futile,” it included.

    Xi was the as it were BRICS pioneer who did not go to the trade gathering. Indeed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who may not connect the summit in individual due to an universal capture warrant for his brutal intrusion of Ukraine, conveyed comments essentially.

    Xi’s shock nonattendance, famous by writers at the occasion, raised questions among long-term spectators of Chinese remote arrangement.

    “It’s greatly bizarre for a Chinese pioneer to appear up in a nation facilitating a multilateral assembly – particularly one that China is profoundly contributed in, like BRICS – and come up short to appear up at the opening event,” said Bonnie Glaser, overseeing executive of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program.

    Brian Hart, a individual with the China Control Venture at the Center for Key and Universal Considers, said Xi’s nonattendance is “highly unusual,” including that Chinese pioneers once in a while go off script at high-profile occasions like this.

    “It appears that something pulled Xi absent from the assembly. It might have been a wellbeing occurrence or perhaps a squeezing matter that required his attention,” he said. “It is additionally conceivable Xi skipped the occasion for a few other reason – maybe in reaction to advancements at the summit.”

    Earlier to the occasion, Xi met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday morning as portion of his state visit to the nation. Within the evening, Xi gone to a supper facilitated by Ramaphosa, along side the pioneers of Brazil and India as well as Russia’s outside serve.

    “The reality that Xi skipped his discourse at this assembly, but appeared up to other engagements some time recently and after this one, recommends there was something intense that pulled him absent amid this window. But at this point we fair don’t know the reason,” Hart included.

    Chinese state media and ambassadors have not given any clarification for Xi’s no-show. Instep, they “have indeed gone so distant as to apparently attempt to cover up Xi’s absence,” Hart said.

    A report on the occasion by state news organization Xinhua made no say of Xi’s nonappearance – or the truth that his discourse was conveyed by Wang, the commerce serve.

    Hua Chunying, a representative for the Chinese Outside Service, tweeted hours after the occasion that “Xi conveyed an address at the closing ceremony of the BRICS Trade Gathering 2023,” along side a picture showing the swarmed conference room.

    Specialists say Beijing will likely never clarify why Xi fizzled to appear up.

    “The (Chinese Communist Party) feels no commitment to supply clarifications approximately why its outside serve was supplanted or its beat pioneer was a no appear at the BRICS Trade Gathering. Anything can be a state secret,” said Glaser with the German Marshall Finance.

    Last month, China suddenly evacuated Qin Pack as the country’s remote serve after he had vanished from open see for weeks. No clarification was given for the sensational move, which saw Qin all of a sudden supplanted by his forerunner Wang Yi. Qin has not been listened from in open since.

    That shake-up really had an affect on the continuous BRICS summit, famous Hart at the CSIS. Qin would have gone to preliminary BRICS gatherings this summer, but amid his vanishing, his agent was sent in his stead.

    “Beijing’s need of straightforwardness is obvious. When it comes to work force things or touchy issues, Chinese authorities firmly bolt down the stream of information,” Hart said.

    “Abnormalities like Xi’s vanishing are however another update that Beijing can be a dark box.”