In Asia, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently announced that his country would soon apply to join BRICS. Besides Malaysia, several other Southeast Asian countries have also expressed their intention to join BRICS.
Affirming that BRICS membership will benefit Thailand in many aspects, the Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said the BRICS Summit, scheduled to take place in October, will be an opportunity for Bangkok to accelerate its process to become a BRICS member.
Many other countries are also working to join BRICS. Speaking at the recent Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Bolivian President Luis Arce, emphasised that the South American country regards BRICS membership as a great opportunity to bolster its industrialisation and economic restructuring.
La Paz also expects that joining BRICS will enhance its position and increase trade since BRICS members are all major economies and attractive export markets. Meanwhile, Turkey also expressed its wish to join BRICS. According to Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, currently, there are 30 countries wishing to join BRICS.
Analysts say it is not hard to explain the appeal of BRICS. With ten members across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, BRICS has a population of about 3.5 billion people, equivalent to 40% of the world’s population and accounting for 36% of global GDP and 25% of global trade.
Economic projects implemented by BRICS also draw special attention. The New Development Bank, established by BRICS countries in 2014, with funding of 100 billion USD, has approved loans for numerous projects worth 32 billion USD, which is expected to increase to 60 billion USD by 2026.
In addition, joining BRICS will help countries open the doors to enter many emerging markets, which have the common characteristics of high population growth and dynamic economic development, thereby boosting exports and attracting investment. BRICS membership will also help countries access new markets and investment opportunities, diversify their economies and reduce the risks of reliance on one or some trading partners.
Dr Joseph Liow from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore emphasised that becoming a member of BRICS brings multi-faceted benefits, including enhancing countries’ role in the international arena and increasing the opportunity to create a new world order.
With its strong appeal, BRICS is drawing more and more countries supporting and sharing views on fundamental principles, such as sovereign equality, respect for each other’s development path and benefits, and promotion of a multipolar world order, an equal global financial and trade system, and collective action to deal with global challenges.
From four original members of Brazil, Russia, India and China, the group admitted one more member, South Africa, in 2010. Recently, the number of BRICS members has doubled, with the participation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Egypt. The admission of three oil powers, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE, helps BRICS gather the countries that account for 80% of global oil output and become one of the leading groups in global energy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin once affirmed that BRICS has become a strong group and a magnet to many countries. Analysts expect that the development of BRICS will help build a world of equality, integration and prosperity.
