The 15th BRICS Summit 2023 is currently gaining huge attention from all over the globe. The much-anticipated conference of the leading economic powers of the world was held in Johannesburg, South Africa between the 22nd of August and the 24th of August. The conference is of huge significance in world politics and cooperation scenarios.
This year, the summit has gained added significance given the various critical developments that have taken place in global politics in the past few years. Therefore, if you wish to know more about the summit, then this article would be the perfect place for you to be.
BRICS: What Is It?
In 2001, a person named Jim O’Neill, of Goldman Sachs coined a short term: BRIC. This word is like a nickname for four countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These places were seen as having a good chance to grow a lot. Jim O’Neill wrote about this in a paper. At first, the word didn’t include South Africa.
In 2009, a few countries got together and created a group. This group wasn’t like a serious club, but it helped these countries work together. They wanted to stand up against how the United States and its friends from the West controlled a lot of things in the world. Russia was the one that started this group. This group isn’t like the United Nations or World Bank. Rather, it’s more relaxed, and not so official. The leaders of these countries meet once a year. Each year, a different country gets to be in charge of the summit.
Members
Initially, Brazil, Russia, India, and China started the group. Later, South Africa joined in 2010, making the group BRICS. South Africa is smaller in terms of money and people, but it was the first new member. Altogether, these countries have over 40% of all the people in the world and make up a quarter of the world economy.
BRICS 2023: Top Agendas
Each year BRICS has some key agendas in focus. This year, the key agendas are:
- One essential agenda for the 15th BRICS Summit 2023 was to discuss the expansion of BRICS.
- Another important agenda for discussion was the reduction of Dollar dominance.
- Various nations have already started trading in their local currency and such transactions are dealt with by the New Development Bank, which was earlier known as the BRICS Development Bank. The summit also discussed on the operations of this bank.
BRICS 2023: Theme
The theme of the 15th BRICS Summit 2023 is “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism”.
BRICS 2023: Key Takeaways
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed that India wants to become a large global economy, worth $5 trillion. He also talked about India being a strong engine for growth around the world.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked about how important it is for everyone to work together and face problems that affect the whole world. He also said that BRICS wants to become as strong as a group called the G7.
- The President of South Africa, Ramaphosa, praised India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission and praised their efforts. He also talked about making new agreements for trading, especially for things like fruit, wine, and beef.
- During the meeting, they talked a lot about needing less of the dollar. The bank that BRICS countries have is thinking about giving out 30% of their loans using their own currencies instead.
- The members also discussed about the possibility of making the group bigger. China wants this to happen.
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