World News: BRICS gathers pace as shared grievances with West fuel alliance

Over 30 countries have wrapped up a major BRICS summit in Russia. During the summit, Russian president Vladimir Putin accused Western nations of weaponizing the dollar through sanctions, which he claims is contributing to BRICS growing influence.

– What is BRICS?

BRICS is an economic alliance originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It’s goal is to promote cooperation among emerging economies and create “a more balanced global financial system.” BRICS also seeks to reduce reliance on the US dollar in international trade, particularly due to concerns about the dollar being used as a tool of economic sanctions by the West.

– Attached are some major takeaways:

• During the summit, BRICS added 12 new partner countries. The countries that joined are Algeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Bolivia, Cuba, Nigeria, and Uganda.

• Russian President Putin proposed a plan to create a BRICS-based grain exchange. He said, “A number of BRICS countries are among the world’s largest producers of grain, vegetables, and oilseeds. We propose opening a BRICS grain exchange, which would facilitate the formation of fair and predictable price indicators for products and raw materials, taking into account their special role in ensuring food security.”

• Russia proposed the creation of a BRICS Cross-Border Payment Initiative (BCBPI), in which members of the organization will use their national currencies to trade.

• BRICS has announced plans to establish an alternative messaging infrastructure to circumvent the SWIFT system of interbank communication, which is overseen by the United States and subject to Western unilateral sanctions.

– Who attended the summit?

The BRICS summit was attended by representatives from India, China, Russia, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Congo, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, and Palestine.