BRICS: The Giant Leap Forward

BRICS: The Giant Leap Forward
By Susan Safi , 10 September 2023

In a strange twist of irony, Goldman Sacs features in the story of the earliest inception of BRIC(s). The company’s chief economist at the time referred to the emerging new global powers as “BRIC” and believed they should be invited to dialogue and discussions around economics. This was in 2001. By 2009 a more cohesive and purposed grouping or “bloc” began to take form after the foreign ministers of the founding states, Brazil, Russia, India, and China met on the sidelines of a UN Assembly meeting in New York in 2006. It wasn’t until June 2009 that things became formal and a diplomatic meeting and Summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia was held. The focus was on global economic matters and reforming the financial institutions.

Thereafter annual Summits were held where issues identified as important to BRIC(s) were discussed with strategies and policies developed. In 2010 South Africa was added and hence the acronym “BRICS” appeared. The governing values were non-interference in each other’s nations and working on matters of mutual benefit. In 2012 the members decided to establish the “New Development Bank” aka BRICS Development Bank and proceeded over time to develop alternative bodies to mitigate the dominance and vulnerabilities experienced by the economic and global hold of the USA and its structures, institutions and allies. In 2015 BRICS established a “Contingent Reserve Arrangement” to provide some protection against the vagaries of the global economic order. Other financial structures were also established.

2023 is a big year for BRICS as will be expanded on below.

According to M K Bhadrakumar, as expressed recently, the core agenda of BRICS was to work on global multipolarity and the creation of a fairer international trade and finance architecture that is crucial to economic growth. (1) BRICS members had to put aside issues of contention and work on developing trust. Some members had ongoing issues, particularly China and India. The China – India issues had to be dealt with as growth of BRICS at every level required the major powers in that bloc to have good working relations. It was not until the 2023 BRICS Summit meeting that both countries came to an agreement to solve the issues. (2) Detractors of BRICS are quick to shoot that news down.

A robust framework was needed in order to support the economic development of the bloc and to shield it from the threats of the USA, its agencies and allies. One key area involved developing transport corridors, the first notable one being the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), often referred to as the Silk Road, developed by China, albeit it causing angst by some countries of Chinese economic expansionist agenda. As the “BRICS world” (that is all the nations friendly to it) expanded, new corridors and pathways were created by the larger BRICS nations with the aim of assisting the growth of economies and developing resilient structures independent from interference and sabotage. These corridors link regions and continents via rail, road and sea. Another important corridor, the Russia-Iran-India International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) aims to extend this to the African continent which will benefit economic development of Africa and other nations along those corridors. This is important infrastructure work outside the reach (as much as possible) of the USA’s destructive intentions and attempts to return to being the only super-power in the world.

During the BRICS 2023 Summit, it was clear that mitigating threats to movement between BRICS countries and other nations had become a matter of urgency. At the Summit, Vladimir Putin called for the establishment of a permanent BRICS transport commission to deal with the development of logistics and transport corridors, inter-regionally and globally.

Professor Alexis Habiyaremye, research chair in industrial development at the University of Johannesburg, explained in an interview that “…countries that are mainly interested in such transport corridors are primarily Russia, Iran, and China. He explained that apart from ensuring access to open seas, the countries are looking to find alternative solutions to “choke holds,” like the Strait of Singapore, the Strait of Malacca, the Suez Canal, the Bosphorus, and the Strait of Hormuz…When it comes to the Northern Sea Route (NSR), it is critical for Russia, as it will help it avoid a potential sea blockade by Western states amid ongoing sanctions, he believes. Likewise, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea would be located within the jurisdiction of Russia’s BRICS partners after the inclusion of both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he remarked. Apparently, the BRICS partnership will also help solve controversies emerging over the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz, giving the group diplomatic leverage.”(3)

Along with vital routes secured, BRICS steadily ramped up its responses to issues around the USD dominance and at times, its weaponization. The US dollar is considered the major trading and transaction currency and since the dismantling of the USSR, the USA has held “unipolar” power over the world as there was no counterbalance, eventuating in a situation described as “full-spectrum dominance”. (4)

In February, 2022 the USA dictated to the world that no country is to make any USD transactions with Russia. (5) With their finger on all the institutions that could enforce this they were able to lock up the vast reserves Russia had, somewhere in the hundreds of billions of USD. The aim was to cripple Russia. No doubt this fact was in the minds of those attending the BRICS 2023 Summit.

For every action there is a reaction; this move of the US Federal Reserve, one very much like that of a pirate, hijacker and mafiosi, aimed at weakening and preying on the “global south” (6) and rising powers, sounded the alarm for nations wanting to move away from such domination. It was no doubt, an urgent item on the agenda of the 2023 BRICS Summit and has been a key goal from the outset of the creation of the bloc with great achievements attained.

An increasing number of nations are establishing trade agreements and new settlements in their national currencies, establishing special economic zones and as the attempts to thwart such “affronts” to the USD dominance step up, increasingly serious discussions have ensued of a possible future common currency to transact financial settlements. This idea of creating a new reserve currency based on a selection of currencies from BRICS member states was first floated at the Valdai Club in 2018. (7)

Today’s BRICS sits poised to effectively drive forward with more clout a game changing, multipolar world with structures to support co-operation, cohesion, development and strategies in much of the world aligned with them. With this bloc becoming “turbo-charged” in 2023 with six new members, the strategies and new developments so far and those being planned, look viable in a changing global environment that places the bloc in a better position of overcoming obstacles placed in its way by a failing unipolar power and all that comes with it; one that for decades held “full-spectrum” domination over the world.

These new members and the existing nation members have made concerted efforts to resolve fractures and cracks that were being capitalised on by the West (the USA) in its efforts to wrestle back sole power over the globe. Of greatest interest is that fact that the two oil rich countries Saudi Arabia and Iran have made a commitment to normalise relations (8) This is a massive blow to the USA. The fact that China and India have agreed to seriously commit to solving their long border dispute is another blow to the USA. Researching various reports on BRICS is very telling; reports from the West give very different accounts and usually are negative and make no reference to the geo-political realities that arise out of the new alignments.

Clearly the BRICS 2023 Summit, held in Johannesburg on 22-24 August, with the addition of six carefully chosen new members, (9) leaders or big players in their regions, becoming official on 1 January 2024, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, has “turbo-charged” BRICS and its mission. A geopolitical shift is in the making and most likely some shifts will occur rapidly.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, played a key role in facilitating the new dynamics of 2023 BRICS. Suddenly BRICS is seen as a viable, powerful and dynamic force for the future. Once key strong US allies now diversify their relationships, disappointing the former holder of unipolar power over the world (the USA) by aligning with some enemies of the USA and linking into the “Global South”. A power like the USA and its allies’ modus operandi was to exploit cracks and divisions around the world whilst the BRICS philosophy is about creating a multipolar world that works at freeing itself from the old world dominated by the above explained modus operandi.

Of the new six members joining BRICS, Bhadrakumar states (10) “There is no question that BRICS ascribes the highest importance to Africa and the Persian Gulf region, with Egypt and Ethiopia, the two ancient civilization-states, as the “lynchpin.” Three key energy powers just joined, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE. The implications economically and politically are enormous. Economically this can put an end to the petrodollar, (11) a situation created by the USA which effectively gave the US dollar an artificially inflated value and power globally.

The addition of the six new nations seems to have brought in a nice balance where no nation feels isolated and fears of an overbearing China are dispelled or diluted. Of enormous importance, the Gulf and Middle East region, particularly Iran, have entered a whole new ball game. The USA and West’s dominance of the Gulf has ended and Iran no longer can be used as the “bad man” of the region because reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran is well in progress. They have re-established normal relations. According to Bhadrakumar, China played the role of a very discreet conciliation mediator with great support and advice from Russia. (12)

A great deal of BRICS’ focus is on West Asia and Africa. These nations have the power to develop or propel their productivity as they will have much more control over their power sources and what they do with it. In the West economies are in decline as the “green”, “climate change” narrative means in effect that at many levels they will have to de-industrialise.

And where did the seed for all this momentous change originate? In one person, not an event, but in Vladimir Putin who inherited a broken Russia and not only turned it into a successful modern country, but also took on leadership on a global level. Knowledge of his leadership qualities was galvanised when he took a stand after a red line was crossed when head chopping ghouls serving their own agenda and that of the USA were close to entering Damascus, Syria. Responding to Syria’s request for help (a defence agreement existed) Russia had boots on the ground within hours. That is how Putin proved to the rising powers of the “Global South” that he was serious and that Russia was finally ready to take such much needed action.

It will take time for peace, stability and reforms of many global institutions to occur. There will likely be quite a fight as the USA’s raison d’être for too long has been tied up in the mindset of exceptionalism, unilateral power and all that comes with it, including the fueling of terrible wars aimed at ensuring there is only one power that decides everything.

BRICS now has every chance to be a major player in shaping a fairer world.

References
1. M.K. Bhadrakumar https://johnmenadue.com/petrodollar-be-warned-three-persian-gulf-energy-powers-just-joined-brics/

2. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3232223/xi-and-modi-agree-brics-prioritise-de-escalation-efforts-himalayan-border

3. Ekaterina Blinova https://sputnikglobe.com/20230825/how-new-logistics-routes-will-ensure-brics-security-1112896788.html

4. Stephen Lendman on William F Engdahl https://www.globalresearch.ca/full-spectrum-dominance-totalitarian-democracy-in-the-new-world-order/14046

5. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/politics/sanctions-russia-putin-rainy-day-fund/index.html

6. https://theconversation.com/the-global-south-is-on-the-rise-but-what-exactly-is-the-global-south-207959

7. Yaroslav D. Lilissovolik https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/boosting-the-use-of-national-currencies-among-brics/

8. Pepe Escobar https://new.thecradle.co/articles/iran-and-saudi-arabia-a-chinese-win-win

9. BRICS South Africa https://twitter.com/BRICSza/status/1694619430435606808/media_tags

10. M.K Bhadrakumar https://johnmenadue.com/petrodollar-be-warned-three-persian-gulf-energy-powers-just-joined-brics/

11. Pepe Escobar https://new.thecradle.co/articles/iran-and-saudi-arabia-a-chinese-win-win