It is not surprising that according to a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan and Gallup International Association (GIA), 28% of Pakistanis express a positive outlook on the increased membership into the BRICS. On the other hand, 39% report not having heard of the alliance and 9% having a negative outlook. This is not alarming since China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have taken over the public and governmental psyche. We as a state see ourselves cyclically dependent on them. And there seems to be no way out.
The acronym BRIC, which did not initially include South Africa, was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of countries including Brazil, Russia, India and China. The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009, initiated by Russia. The aim was to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies and as a breeding ground for economic and political space for the Global South.
The group is not a formal multilateral organisation like the United Nations, IMF, World Bank or the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) but it is an intergovernmental organisation. The heads of state and government of the member nations convene annually with each nation taking up a one-year rotating chairmanship of the group.
Over 40 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Algeria, Bolivia, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan have expressed interest in joining the forum, according to 2023 summit chair South Africa. On 1 January 2024, BRICS admitted four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The group’s decision to open the door to new members was taken at its Johannesburg summit in August 2023, sparking a debate about its growing international influence.
In 2023, Pakistan had formally sought membership in BRICS, the grouping of five emerging economies even though it includes rival India at a time the body is fast gaining the status as the leading bloc of the Global South. Calling BRICS an “important group of developing countries”, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, disclosed that the country has made a “formal request” to join the group. The spokesperson added that Pakistan had warm ties with “most” BRICS members.
“The world is moving towards regionalism, and now countries are cooperating for connectivity with each other,” Mushahid Ali Sayed, chairperson for the Pakistani Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee told Al Jazeera, applauding the government’s move to join the body.
Salma Malik, Associate Professor at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad and an expert in strategic affairs, also agreed with Sayed, and said that such “regional, economic and cultural unions” would be beneficial for Pakistan.
“This is a time of multilateralism. You are heard better in small blocs, and you can voice larger concerns. You can build common consensus on various issues… Pakistan’s options are further limited by the fact that its economy remains on life support supplied by the US-dominated International Monetary Fund. In June, the IMF unexpectedly sanctioned a loan of USD 3 billion to debt-ridden Pakistan. Leaked documents show that Washington DC aided Pakistan’s access to the IMF loan in exchange for Islamabad supplying weapons and ammunition to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Pakistan publicly denied this exchange. In mid-November, a day after the IMF agreed to release USD 700 million to Pakistan under the existing bailout programme, the interim finance minister of the time, Shamshad Akhtar, confirmed that Pakistan might lean on the IMF for more loans to stabilise its tottering economy concerns,” the academic, Salma Malik told Al Jazeera.
While Pakistan’s participation as an observer in the 2023 summit was allegedly blocked by India, Islamabad now hopes that future decisions of the group will be based on ‘inclusivity’. This is because it views BRICS as an alternative to global bodies viewed as dominated by the traditional Western powers and hope membership will unlock benefits including development, finance, and increased trade and investment.
The reason for popularity of this bloc within the Global South, which the general Pakistani population remains unaware of, was when BRICS voiced valid dissatisfaction with the global order exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic when life-saving vaccines were hoarded by the rich countries.
Iran, home to around a quarter of the Middle East’s oil reserves, has said it hopes the mechanism for new membership would be decided “at the earliest.” Oil heavyweight Saudi Arabia was among more than a dozen countries that participated in “Friends of BRICS” talks in Cape Town in June. It has received backing from Russia and Brazil to join the BRICS, and it is likely to join the bloc soon.
According to estimates, BRICS+, as the organisation has been informally called since its expansion, now accounts for 37.3% of world GDP, or more than half as much as the EU (14.5 %). However, besides an increase in economic power the new members could bring potential conflicts (Saudi Arabia/Iran or Egypt/Ethiopia) into the group, making the reaching of consensus on common political positions more difficult.
Through BRICS China is trying to grow its power and influence – especially in Africa. It wants to be the leading voice for the Global South. “The other major world power in the group has a different purpose that is Russia sees [Brics] as part of its fight against the West, helping it to overcome the sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine,” says Creon Butler of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Russia will host the 20024 Brics summit in Kazan in October.
President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to:
- increase the role of Brics in the international financial system
- develop cooperation between banks, and expand the use of Brics currencies
- promote collaboration between tax and customs authorities
Moreover, through BRICS, Russia hopes to also show the West that despite its invasion of Ukraine, it still has friends and allies in the rest of the world, displaying its global power play.
While having the potential of forming a powerful economic bloc, there is no possibility of these countries becoming a political alliance like the European Union (EU) or even a formal trading association. As it seeks to expand its clout in order to have a greater say in the global order dominated by the United States, the BRICS group also faces many challenges, including the increasing gap in development and economy among its member states. Some member countries also face the challenge of security and political stability.
There is a strong view that economic power will bring political clout to regional and global politics for Pakistan which is in dire need of it. Pakistan will certainly benefit if its application for the membership is approved in the forthcoming summit meeting in January 2024. But Pakistan faces many hurdles because the decision in the forum is taken by consensus. It remains to be seen whether India will give that consent and how much Pakistan is ready to free itself of the chains of IMF and the US.
People’s populace ignorance towards the BRICS+, as demonstrated through the survey, is a foreign policy failure and the government’s botch which is fixated to be a tout of the US and its allies, being chained to IMF’s atrocious demands, while still failing to fulfill its conditions.
