Established during 2009, BRICS mainly comprises the countries of South Africa, Brazil, China, Russia as well as India. Up to this year, expansion has led to a total of 22 countries which include full members as well as partner nations. BRICS summits are held annually, during which time one of the heads of state is elected to serve as a Pro Tempore President. The 2025 Presidency is held by Brazil.
Setting the BRICS plan in motion
Finance ministers from the BRICS group of developing nations called on Saturday for reform of the International Monetary Fund, including a new distribution of voting rights and an end to the tradition of European management at the helm. The IMF or International Monetary Fund is not only an international financial institution, but also a specialized agency of the UN.ย The headquarters are based in Washington DC. 190 member countries form part of the IMF.
The mission of this institution is, amongst other things, sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, financial stability, etc., The joint statement by the group’s finance ministers marks the first time the BRICSย countries haveย agreed on a unified positionย on the proposed reforms. They agreed to back the shared proposal at an IMF review meeting coming up in December, which will discuss changes to a quota system that defines contributions and voting rights.
Bringing about a reform to the current system
“Quota realignment should reflect members’ relative positions in the global economy, while protecting the quota shares of the poorest members,” the ministers wrote in their statement after meetings in Rio de Janeiro, adding that the new formula should increase quotas for developing countries. The BRICS ministers called for a new formula weighted by economic output and purchasing power, considering the relative value of currencies, which should better represent low-income countries, said a Brazilian official who followed negotiations.
The ministerial meetings came ahead of aย leader’s summit in Rio for the bloc that expanded last year beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. That has added diplomatic clout to the group, whichย aims toย speak for developing nations in the Global South, urging reformsย of institutions long dominated by traditional Western powers.
Unravelling the whole IMF landscape
“With full respect to a merit-based selection process, regional representation must be enhanced for the IMF management, overcoming the anachronistic post-World War II gentlemen’s agreement that is unfit for the current world order,” the finance ministers wrote. Their statement also confirmed discussions to set up a new guaranteed mechanism backed by the NDB, a multilateral bank funded by the BRICS, which aims to lower financing costs and boost investment in developing economies, as Reutersย first reported on Thursday.
The New Development Bank (NDB) was established by the BRICS nations Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa. Between 2021 to 2025, seven more countries joined. (Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Uruguay, Algeria and Egypt). Headquartered in Shanghai, China, the vision of the NDB is to speedily structure, negotiate review and then approve loans. This whole process should also not compromise on project quality as well as risk management standards.
With Brazil currently at the helm of BRICS, their plans seem to be to not only reform the global governance systems, but to also include better emerging country participation into the BRICS. There is also a need to improve the global south cooperation for more sustainable and inclusive governance. Expansion goals seem to be on the cards for everyone as a lot of current members showed their commitment to bring in more partner countries as well as other members. The logic behind this being to gain access to some of the other regional trade blocs.
GCN.com/REUTERS.