BRICS, a key platform for collaboration among emerging markets and developing countries, is increasingly contributing to global economic growth through its focus on inclusive development and cooperation. By fostering economic cooperation and financial innovation, BRICS is promoting a fairer global economic order.
In 2024, BRICS welcomed new members, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia, raising the number of member countries from five to 10. Other nations like Thailand, Malaysia and Nicaragua have also successively applied to join BRICS, exploring new avenues for economic development.
The expansion of BRICS demonstrates its growing appeal, especially among countries in the Global South, noted Wang Lei, director of the Center for BRICS Cooperation Studies at Beijing Normal University. He explained that the inclusion of African nations would drive their growth by leveraging shared experiences within BRICS, further enhancing the group's role in promoting global development.
The BRICS countries possess abundant natural resources and large consumer markets, which have fueled their rapid economic growth. In recent years, their combined economic output has steadily expanded, making them key contributors to global economic development.
With more than 40 percent of the world's population, BRICS countries account for 37 percent of global GDP, according to a report published in February 2024 by the World Governments Summit Organization, a global, neutral, non-profit organization.
The growing membership and the diversity of BRICS countries' interests reflect an effort to represent the Global South collectively, noted Taylor Fravel, a professor of political science and director of the MIT Security Studies Program, during an interview with MIT News. The group seeks to ensure that the interests of the developing world are recognized and taken into account, especially by the West.
By collectively advocating for the interests of emerging economies, BRICS represents a significant counterbalance to the influence of advanced industrialized economies, he added.
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BRICS promotes inclusive, cooperative global economic future
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