BRICS’ ranks swell as new countries come onboard

BRIC was formed in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The inaugural summit of the organization took place in Russia in 2009. South Africa joined as the fifth member in 2010, transforming the union into BRICS. Currently, the group comprises nine countries. By 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE have joined BRICS+.

The dynamically evolving economies of the BRICS+ nations play a significant role in global trade, representing over 40% of global oil production and approximately 25% of global merchandise exports. These countries collectively contribute more than a third of the world GDP in purchasing power parity terms (35%).

On January 1, 2024, Russia assumed the presidency in the organization. In November 2023, Vladimir Putin endorsed the Chairmanship Concept. The document aims to create conditions conducive to facilitating the coordinated growth of railroads and implementing relevant projects.

“BRICS is gaining increasing support from like-minded countries that share the fundamental principles behind the union's actions. These principles include sovereign equality, respect for each country's development path, mutual consideration of interests, openness, consensus, the aspiration for a multipolar world order, a just global financial and trade system, and the pursuit of collective solutions to today's most pressing issues," stated Vladimir Putin during an address marking the start of the Russian presidency.

As numerous states express their desire to join BRICS today, approximately 25 countries have already declared their intentions. According to South Africa's Ambassador to Russia, Mzuvukile Jeff Maketuka, at the February meeting, six nations were proposed for membership during last year's 15th summit in Johannesburg, with 12 out of 23 applications under review. An additional 11 countries are awaiting the outcomes and developments in Kazan, where the next BRICS summit will take place on October 22-24, hosted by the Tatarstan capital. It is anticipated that new member announcements will be made during the event, potentially including Algeria, Belarus, and Pakistan, among others. There is a possibility that Saudi Arabia's membership will be deliberated as it was initially scheduled to join the union in January of this year.

In June, Nizhny Novgorod will host a meeting of the organization's foreign ministers in an expanded format. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabri and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have announced their intentions to join the union. This follows previous expressions of interest from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the government of Thailand.

An essential aspect of cooperation involves developing transport corridors and establishing logistics chains. It was for a reason that in August 2023, at the Johannesburg summit, Vladimir Putin proposed to establish a permanent commission on transport.

During the same summit, the BRICS Business Council's Infrastructure Working Group has decided to create a subgroup focused on transportation and logistics. The subgroup's objectives involve the coordinated advancement of transport corridors, addressing the innovation agenda, and sharing expertise in personnel training. Presently, the subgroup comprises approximately 80 transportation and logistics firms, with 26 being Chinese.

The location of BRICS+ nations along key transportation routes (East-West, "One Belt, One Road", North-South, sea routes to Brazil, and to Egypt via the Azov-Black Sea ports) fosters opportunities for the enhanced development of transportation across all modes - sea, air, and notably, railways.

Among BRICS nations, China, the UAE, and India led in foreign trade cargo transport via the Russian Railways network last year. Transport volume with China surged by 36%, with the UAE by 2.6 times, and with India by 1.9 times. The combined length of BRICS railway networks exceeds 382,000 kilometers, including electrified lines spanning about 213,000 kilometers. Annual loading volume reaches 8.4 billion tons, freight turnover surpasses 7.6 trillion tkm, and passenger turnover stands at 1,420 billion passenger-km. Future integration promises deeper collaboration and exponential growth in these metrics.

Sergey Volkov