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The Foreign Office issued a clarification that Pakistan has not formally applied to join the BRICS alliance. This rejoinder came after Pakistan was not invited to the bloc’s summit in Johannesburg despite reports that China was pressing for its inclusion.
The bloc initially composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) – dubbed the next top economies – invited six countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Argentina to join the group. This was rather surprising as the countries were developing economies and Pakistan was ignored.
The Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan would examine the latest developments and decide on its future engagement with the alliance. The BRICS alliance makes decisions by consensus and has agreed to expand the group. The criteria on who to include was debated. India said that there should be some criteria such as the size of the country’s GDP to be considered for memberships.
The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and Western allies. More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc. The list of new entrants was interesting as they are some of the world’s largest oil exporters and have created a debate that the era of petrodollars is coming to an end.
Many of the countries feel they have been unfairly treated by US-dominated global institutions. The choice of Iran was rather surprising as the country faces economic sanctions. Its inclusion could be the result of Russian influence. Saudi Arabia and UAE are wealthy oil producers and their inclusion was expected.
The inclusion of Argentina will give more representation to South America. The country has a battered economy with inflation topping 100% and is seeking foreign investment. Egypt also has a fledgling economy while Ethiopia is engulfed in conflict and civil war. Hence, it seems Pakistan could also have considered giving it regional importance.
The expansion of BRICS is being viewed with skepticism as it may not have a significant impact on foreign investment or trade. However, BRICS members are discussing the use of their national currencies in trade to remove the dependence on the US dollar. This should ring alarm bells in the West that Asian economies will dominate the world and era of US influence and interference is over.
