BRICS’ Immense Potential Against Western Hegemony

The 18th summit of BRICS, the alliance of emerging economies, began last Saturday in India’s capital New Delhi and concluded on Sunday. On Saturday, member states adopted the summit’s declaration, titled the “New Delhi Declaration,” which condemned war, terrorism, and unilateral tariff regimes, while emphasizing reform of multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council, and changes to the global trade system. According to observers, the New Delhi Declaration carries a particular message given the current geopolitical context — it represents a united and firm protest against Western warmongering policies, terrorist activities, economic exploitation, and trade sanctions. This BRICS summit has become a widely discussed topic in international circles for several reasons. First, this alliance was formed to convert the collective potential of emerging economies into economic and geopolitical power.

Second, to create an alternative to US, or Western, dominance in the global economy. Third, to establish a multipolar world order. Fourth, to reduce the dollar’s dominance by increasing the use of local currencies. A particularly important goal of this alliance is to cooperate in advancing the economic progress of member states, for which the alliance has already established the New Development Bank, which provides loans to member countries across various sectors. BRICS was founded in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India, and China; South Africa joined the alliance in 2010. But the alliance’s scope is no longer limited to these five countries — Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have already joined, while Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are associated with the alliance as partners.

Needless to say, by any measure, BRICS has become one of the world’s most important alliances. Statistics show this alliance represents about 49.5% of the world’s population, 40% of global GDP, and 29% of international trade — meaning no power bloc in the world today has the strength to bypass this alliance.

The United States remains a military superpower and holds first position economically as well, but in recent years its standing as a military superpower has declined, having suffered humiliating defeats in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and most recently the Iran war. Economically too, it is now a waning power, with China advancing rapidly to take its place. The European Union, once a powerful bloc, is now weak and suffering from internal fragmentation; its once-close relationship with the United States is no longer what it was, and as a result its degree of influence has also diminished. The two influential blocs in global politics and economics are the G7 and the G20.

The G7 comprises the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the European Union, established in 1975 primarily to protect the security and economy of the developed democratic world. The G20 was established in 1991 with the goal of ensuring global economic stability; besides G7 and BRICS members, it also includes Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Turkey, and the European Union and African Union. It must be said that, for various reasons, the G7 and G20 have shown failure in ensuring world peace, stability, political development, and economic security, and as a result the importance of these two blocs is diminishing day by day. Against this backdrop, BRICS’ potential is immense — opportunities await it to increase its geopolitical influence and capacity and to help shape the global economy. Observers believe that if BRICS can properly seize the opportunities available to it, it will become the world’s foremost alliance.

China will lead BRICS next year — an announcement made by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit’s opening ceremony. Upon assuming the BRICS chairmanship, he pledged to give top priority to establishing peace and stability in the Middle East and Gulf region. On Sunday, the summit’s closing day, Xi Jinping strongly opposed unilateral dominance in the world’s political and economic system, stating that international rules cannot be imposed by the will of any single country or group, and that the time has long come to change the “might makes right” principle in world politics. On the same day, at a session titled “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainable Development,” Xi Jinping called for abandoning double standards in international relations, and put forward a five-point proposal to make economic capacity more practical and results-oriented.

These five points cover artificial intelligence, trade, the digital economy, modern manufacturing, and human resource development in science and technology. Given current realities, these proposals from Xi Jinping are highly reasonable and significant, and it is hoped that implementation of these proposals will accelerate among BRICS member states under his leadership. BRICS is, in essence, a protest movement or alternative bloc against Western rule, exploitation, interference, aggression, war, and conflict — and it is with this goal and position in mind that the alliance’s operating approach must be determined and ensured going forward. The question may arise: why is Bangladesh not a member of BRICS? Those who held power in the past could best answer this question. It is known that Bangladesh applied for BRICS membership in 2023; for whatever reason, it did not get the opportunity to gain membership. However, Bangladesh is a member of the alliance’s New Development Bank. Since BRICS is a powerful voice of the Global South, gaining membership in the alliance is also Bangladesh’s right. Analysts believe that with China now leading BRICS, Bangladesh’s chances of gaining membership have increased more than ever before. We hope the government will make a well-considered decision on this matter.