BRICS turned from the de-facto five-member alliance to a nine-member bloc after the expansion in 2023. It could have been an 11-member grouping if Saudi Arabia and Argentina had accepted the invitation last year. The nine-member BRICS alliance will meet for the first time in the upcoming summit on October 22 to 24, 2024. The 16th summit will be held in the Kazan region of Russia and all the nine countries will decide the future of the grouping.
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Topics about de-dollarization, new trade deals, usage of local currencies for cross-border transactions, and BRICS expansion will be decided at the 2024 summit. Expansion will be the most talked about topic at the summit as nearly 47 countries have applied to join BRICS. While 25 countries have formally submitted their applications, 22 other nations have informally expressed to join the bloc.
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BRICS Expansion: 11 Countries To Be Inducted in 2024 Summit?
A recent report indicates that BRICS could turn from a nine-country alliance to a 20-member bloc after the 2024 summit. The expansion could add 11 countries to the grouping but they will have fewer rights than the existing nine members. A senior official said on the condition of anonymity that the 11 countries will have enough opportunities to contribute but will not have decision-making powers.
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They will be a part of BRICS but will not have a consensus approach to write trade policies and de-dollarization efforts. They will most likely remain ‘associate partners’ which is a first-of-its-kind in the alliance’s history.
The 2024 BRICS expansion remains a mystery as 47 countries are ready to join the group. Selecting 11 out of the 47 applications will be a herculean task as what they bring to the table matters. Therefore, the 16th summit’s expansion will be important and it will decide the future of the BRICS alliance.