The key objectives of the 2024 BRICS Summit are to promote cooperation and partnership among member countries in politics, security, economy, finance, and culture
The 16th BRICS Summit is scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia on October 22-24, 2024. The Theme of the Meeting is “Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security.”
 
The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development, and cooperation. The BRICS countries have declared their support for an alternative global financial system, a multipolar world, and revamping the global trading system.
 
In addition to dealing with issues like promoting multilateralism, dealing with climate change, fighting terrorism, and confronting other global challenges, the BRICS leaders are expected to deliberate on several issues, including expanding membership of the grouping at the forthcoming Summit.
 
Evolution of BRICS
The BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa witnessed an expansion increasing its strength from five to eleven at the Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa in August, 2023. 

UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran joined the grouping on January 1, 2024. Argentina declined to join after a change in government in November, 2023. Saudi Arabia, the sixth country, is still undecided about joining BRICS.
 
The nine BRICS countries account for 28.3% of the world’s land area and 44.6% of the global population. The GDP of the nine BRICS nations in nominal dollar terms in 2023 was US$ 29.06trillion accounting for 27.4 % of global GDP.
 
In comparison, the G7 accounts for US$ 45.92trillion accounting for 43% of global GDP in nominal terms. In purchasing power parity terms (PPP) however, GDP of BRICS9 is US$ 65.79trillion which is 35.43% of global GDP.
 
Corresponding figures for G7 are US$ 55.02trillion accounting for 29.63% of the global GDP. The combined economic output of the five original BRICS members, measured in purchasing power parity, exceeded that of the US-led G7 in 2022.
 
The economic strength of the BRICS can be assessed from their weight in the IMF where their quota increased from 8.4% in 2001 to 25.8% in 2022, while the G-7 quota decreased from 64.6% to 42.9% over the same period.
 
The new BRICS members bring other attributes besides raw GDP to the bloc. With the addition of the UAE and Iran, the BRICS increased its share of global oil production by 8.9% viz. from 18.62 million bbl/day to 26 million bbl/day.
 
As BRICS appears keen to establish an alternate trade and financial system that operates independently of the U.S. dollar, adding nations with more natural resources becomes essential.
 
Enlargement of BRICS
There is intense anticipation about the further enlargement of BRICS. The grouping crossed the Rubicon last year by adding six new members (out of which only 4 ultimately joined) after apparently heated debates.
 
Russia has announced that around 30 countries have evinced interest in becoming members of the organisation. Some of the names being mentioned are Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Thailand, Venezuela, Cuba, Nigeria, Pakistan etc.
 
Russia has made “developing modalities for interaction with BRICS partner-countries” one of its key priorities for the Kazan Summit. It appears unlikely that more members to the grouping will be added at the forthcoming Summit.
 
Russia has proposed that under the new category of “Partner countries,” 10 countries out of the 33 or so who have applied could be added. The partner countries could participate in specific initiatives or projects but may not be involved in decision-making voting.
 
BRICS members have more in common than analysts often appreciate.
 
First, all BRICS members see the emergence of multipolarity as both inevitable and generally desirable. They view BRICS as an alternative to global bodies which are seen as dominated by the traditional Western powers and hope that BRICS membership will unlock benefits including development finance, and increased trade and investment.
 
Secondly, being a member of the BRICS confers considerable prestige, status, and legitimacy to the new members, many of which have stagnated economically for years and now want to expand their options in a rapidly changing global order.
 
Is a BRICS currency feasible? 
With 88% of international transactions conducted in U.S. dollars, and the dollar accounting for 58% of global foreign exchange reserves, the dollar’s global dominance is indisputable. Due to the dollar’s extensive use, the United States enjoys significant sway over other economies.
 
Reports have appeared in recent months that BRICS is exploring the use of stablecoins – cryptocurrency tokens pegged to assets like the dollar, euro, or gold ounce – for settlements.
 
Additionally, they are considering creating a platform to link central banks’ digital currency systems and discussing the integration of national systems for financial messaging.
 
While discussions are proceeding on all these options, no conclusive decisions have been reached. Efforts are being made to arrive at a comprehensive solution to the issue.
 
The most ambitious path would be something akin to the Euro. But negotiating a single currency would be difficult given the economic power asymmetries and complex political dynamics within BRICS.
 
Moreover, none of the countries involved show any desire to discontinue their local currencies. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the use of national currencies amongst some BRICS members for trade settlements and in implementing schemes.
 
The aim appears to be to establish mechanisms that can be applied across all BRICS nations while continuing bilateral efforts with partners, both within BRICS and beyond, to further expand these practices.
 
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that a surprise announcement of a new international payment system, an alternative to SWIFT, could be made at the Summit.
 
Conclusion
The BRICS Kazan Summit comes at a crucial juncture in the evolution of BRICS and at a critical stage in the rapid changes taking place in the global political, economic and security architecture. Decisions at the Kazan Summit could signal a significant contribution to determining future global developments.
 
***The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at Ananta Aspen Centre; he was the Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan Sweden and Latvia; views expressed here are his own