In September 2004 the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China agreed to have regular consultations. Little did they imagine that 19 years later, they would be the driving forces of a new global alliance of 11 nations.
In January 2024, the BRICS bloc will expand and add Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the original four constituent members, South Africa having joined as the 5th member in 2010. The 11-member states, BRICS Plus, will represent 37% of the World GDP and 46% of the world population. The BRICS Plus are larger and carry greater weight than any other regional alliance.
The BRICS Heads of State summit meeting this week in Johannesburg consolidated the nature of the BRICS as a collaborative forum. The Johannesburg summit did not convert the BRICS into a formal international organisation with its own legal personality,
