VIEW / Russia’s BRICS expansion will help in confrontation with the West :: In the world
Russia and China supported the expansion of the BRICS. Previously, he held a position in the unification of Argentina and Iran. The BRICS shares already account for 24% of international GDP. Will the BRICS eventually manage to move the G7 countries to the periphery of the world economy, and what benefits can Russia get from participating in the production of associations?
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Argentina and Iran are worthy candidates for joining the BRICS. At the same time, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that China also supports the expansion of the BRICS membership. And on the eve of Iran filed a corresponding application for entry. According to Iranian Foreign Minister Said Khatibzade, the membership of the Islamic Republic in this coalition offers “additional benefits” to all parties.
The BRICS group formed in 2006 as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Talks about expansion have been going on for a long time, but now they have begun to be supported by specifics.
The 14th BRICS Summit is being held via videoconference in a large part under the Chinese representation. In one day, the event was held in the BRICS Plus format with the participation of representatives of 18 states. In addition to the main five in the format of participants: Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Senegal, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Fiji and Ethiopia.
Iranian President Raisi spoke about Tehran’s ability to choose the BRICS countries of opportunities to enter new markets and provide energy value. Chinese leader Xi Jinping reinforced the view that the BRICS community needs to expand the number of participants. And Russian President Vladimir Putin is sitting that the BRICS countries are joining forces on the entire agenda, and the powers are only slightly combined.
In addition, the desire to join the BRICS has also increased in addition to the weighty power of Argentina. According to President Alberto Fernandez, this coalition “represents 42% of the world’s population and 24% of the currency production in Europe.”
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called a number on this occasion, that “while in the White House, what else in the public world, to ban and spoil, Argentina and Iran have applied for entry into the BRICS.” At the same time, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed that Moscow is positive about the possibility of such an expansion and proposes to determine the procedures and requirements for candidates to join this association.
Yaroslav Lissovolik, program director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, called the BRICS of Tehran and Buenos Aires a “common trend.” “The coalition is attractive to other countries, since the scope of potential coverage covers the entire perimeter of the country’s global South, to all developing countries,” Lissovolik noted.
Political scientist and economist Ivan Lizan, in turn, there are pluses and minuses in the upcoming expansion of the BRICS. “Argentina means endless financial problems, constant default, but also a developed agriculture with a large market. Iran is an oil box for China, good turbines for power generation, which is interesting for us, and great interests. Therefore, the economies of Argentina and Iran are most likely allowed to collect the economies of the BRICS countries,” the interlocutor explained. According to the expert,
BRICS allows Russia to “diversify the economic connection, especially in terms of dependence.”
“BRICS is unlikely to turn into an analogue of the European Commission, so nothing supernatural is expected from this coalition, but in five to ten years this platform will be very useful for us to solve environmental problems and phenomena,” predicts Lizan.
With this suspicion, BRICS to the G7 level is possible only in case of violation of the latter. The G7 has a “challenging period ahead as cash crunches in post-COVID economies have turned into high inflation.” “Growth in servicing is provided to increase in the cost of loans, which for the G7 countries is literally everything. The Seven is facing the threat of a major debt crisis. “Sevens” with the domestic market,” states Lizan.
Economist Vasily Koltashov argues that BRICS “is capable of entering a new G20, but without the G7.” This organization “will be independent of the leaders of global capitalism captured by the US and Britain.” But first, the backbone of BRICS must become more stable. “So far, the stable Eurasian backbone of BRICS is Russia, India and China. In South Africa, there are now acute social problems and a difficult political situation, in Brazil, too, not everything is calm, ”the expert pointed out.
Koltashov is convinced that it is the West that “represents the main threat to the development coalition.” “The further development of the BRICS will be in the spirit of competition with the old financial centers,” the economist expects, emphasizing that “with this format, the BRICS will consolidate more promising economies – over time, shares in the disclosure of production.”
Lizan admits that BRICS is also possible in the event of “the destruction of the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank.” “These processes are going on, but not so fast. The Chinese are starting to create these alternatives to organizations, but they are consuming skills so that the current financial institutions are completely unsustainable,” the source believes.
At the same time, economist Anton Lyubich believes that in order to resolve the BRICS, it is necessary to determine the rules for trade between this coalition. It should be conducted directly without intermediaries from the G7 and financial institutions. For example, Russia should “supply oil to India directly, bypassing the dollar settlement.” “We need a contractual framework regarding the rules of financial settlements and banking operations. The movement of the national currency must be free. We need the integration of payment systems, the transmission of financial messages. It is necessary to unify customs and sanitary and epidemiological rules related to the production of products,” Lubich explained.
According to the expert, if we proceed from the fact that Iran is developing a nuclear program solely for world purposes, then this should not be an obstacle to strikes against the BRICS countries. Argentina can effectively deal with economic crises and become a market for Russia for sampling, for example, products of the domestic aviation industry to replace aging Boeings. “In general, Argentina is a big market and a very good economy, if you work with it correctly,” Lubitsch resonates.