Much expected from upcoming BRICS summit

As leaders of five emerging economies prepare to convene for the 15th BRICS summit on Aug 22 to 24 in South Africa, there are high expectations among observers about the outcomes of the meeting.

It will be the first physical meeting of member countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa since the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other countries are looking at BRICS as an engine to boost their own economic recovery.

With the group's expansion expected to be announced during the summit, there is considerable interest in the criteria being used to choose new members and which countries would qualify.

Philani Mthembu, executive director of the Institute for Global Dialogue, which is associated with University of South Africa, said the fact that the summit is going to be the group's first physical meeting since the pandemic pointed to the recovery momentum of the member countries despite the impact of the Ukraine crisis.

"It's a summit that is likely to attract global attention. I expect to see a consolidation of cooperation mechanisms and also the charting of a vision for the next cycle of BRICS summits," he said.

The theme of this year's summit is BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism.

Mthembu commended the theme, noting that multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization or the United Nations have been under a lot of pressure in the last few years.

"There is an acknowledgment that multilateralism has been in crisis in the last few years. It has not achieved the things it set out to do," he said. "One of the key focus areas in the theme is strengthening inclusive multilateralism. It is important that South Africa brings an African focus into the theme."

Cavince Adhere, a scholar in Kenya of international relations with a focus on China-Africa development cooperation, said African countries expect BRICS to provide increased trade and investment opportunities with member countries.

Noting that BRICS countries collectively represent over 40 percent of the world's population, he said access to these large markets could significantly stimulate the economic growth and development of many emerging economies on the continent.

"In an increasingly polarized world, BRICS can create an enabling avenue for African countries to fashion a more inclusive global economic and political order, which has been dominated by Western powers," Adhere said. "Joining BRICS allows countries to align themselves with a group that seeks to promote multipolarity and a more equitable international system."

He said the fact that over 40 countries have expressed the desire to join BRICS during the summit is an indication of the popularity of the formation as most countries believe that by aligning with it they can offset prevailing development challenges.

Fulufhelo Netswera, head of the BRICS Research Institute at Durban University of Technology in South Africa, said this year's theme suggests that a balanced global order should be in which countries are not exploited by major powers.

This is in addition to ensuring that all nations are in partnership for mutual growth and sustainable development.

"This is a win-win formula for the world of tomorrow. The current unipolar world has demonstrated that hunger, poverty and wars will continue to perpetuate into the unforeseeable future, if this world order is not challenged," he said.

Netswera said South Africa has championed the representation of Africa in BRICS, the reason it has invited African heads of states to the gathering, which is highly symbolic of the theme for the summit.

Xn Iraki, an associate professor on the University of Nairobi's faculty of business and management sciences, said he expects the summit to be a forum that charts new economic paths for its members. He said BRICS members, both present and future, should portray themselves as countervailing forces to the West.