The upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan will be the first of its kind, i.e. in the expanded format. Heads of state will discuss the question of possible new members and future plans of cooperation.
Who deserves full membership now and who can wait?
After the first stage of enlargement, which took place following the previous BRICS Summit in South Africa last year, an enlargement that resulted in the admission of new full members to the organization (Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and for the time being partly Saudi Arabia), interest in BRICS on the global scale is today at an all-time high.
As for the next possible expansion stage, it is worth paying particular attention to countries representing different regions of the world that are seeking to become members of the international bloc and that are also of interest to BRICS members themselves. Apart from full membership, it is also very likely for BRICS to offer intermediate options for interaction (as is already the case within, for example, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization), for example statuses such as dialogue partners or observer members.
From Eurasia, it would obviously be logical to invite Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as a number of other Central Asian and Transcaucasian states (in the long run), among which Azerbaijan has recently officially applied for membership. These are states that have allied and/or strategic partnership relations with Russia and China and support the multipolar world order. Pakistan’s candidacy could be interesting; Mongolia is also a very interesting potential participant for the organization. Of course, Syria’s candidacy should also be supported. Beyond the Eurasian space, in Asia Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam seem to be worthy candidates.
Returning again to the Eurasian space, for Türkiye, in many respects a very important and interesting country for joint work, at this stage it would probably be more logical to propose one of the intermediate options for interaction with BRICS. This is, among other things, due to Ankara’s current membership in NATO and its likely willingness to use a possible invitation to BRICS as an additional element of pressure in the framework of relations with the European Union and the West in general. In other words, to strengthen its positions and ambitions in the framework of relations with Western ‘partners’.
As for Latin America, we should certainly not repeat the same mistake as with Argentina, instead focusing on the states that are unconditional supporters of BRICS and the era of multipolarity. These countries are well known: Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia. These are precisely the ones that deserve to be full-fledged members of the organization in the near future. As for interesting candidates for intermediate statuses in interaction with BRICS, Mexico could be a potentially interesting option.
In Africa, priority should be given to the true allies of the multipolar world and to those based on true Pan-African values. These are of course the countries of the Alliance-Confederation of Sahel States (Alliance des Etats du Sahel, AES), an alliance composed of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. These are nations that have unequivocally proven – not only by worlds but also and above all by their actions – their unconditional and active support of the multipolar world order.
Of course, it is also worth remembering the other states of the African continent, allies of Russia and China, as well as of the multipolar era. This includes Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Uganda, Eritrea, Burundi. The Republic of Congo should also be considered. It would also be wise to propose some interesting options for interaction with Morocco, which relies on diversifying relations with several BRICS members, including China, Russia, India, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. As for Nigeria, one of the main continental powers having declared its interest in joining the BRICS, at this stage, the most optimal interaction option seems to be that of an observer member or a dialogue partner.
BRICS, a key force in international relations
Naturally, it should be remembered that this is a preliminary analysis and only the Kazan Summit itself will give the final answer on all the initiatives that will be adopted by member states. The wait is getting shorter and shorter, and whatever decisions are made (perhaps related to the new stage of enlargement), BRICS already constitutes a key structure of international affairs, both in geoeconomic and geopolitical terms of the contemporary world. By the way, this is even beginning to be recognized within the Western planetary minority, at least on the side of those who can still be called more or less serious analysts.
As for those who are nothing more than primitive Western propagandists, trying by all means to minimize the BRICS role on the international scene, this only confirms once again all the rage of the obvious planetary minority about the role that will be assigned to it in the realities of the modern world. A multipolar and, in future, also a post-Western world.
Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov, entrepreneur, political commentator, expert on African and Middle Eastern issues, exclusively for the internet journal «New Eastern Outlook»
