Enlarged BRICS | Mint

The BRICS group of countries, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has agreed to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as new members. Concerns of BRICS gradually turning into an anti-West club have increased ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its “no-limits” partnership with China, which had been especially keen to expand membership. The group’s potential influence over global geopolitics has gone up. With Saudi Arabia signed up, a power overlap is now visible with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, over whose decisions Riyadh holds significant control. In recent years, Moscow has been an ally of this oil cartel. Beijing, meanwhile, has emerged as a player in West Asia by mediating a recent rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran. All of this would presumably make the West uneasy. It’s notable that all the new members have agreed to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Back when we had a plainly US-run unipolar world order, BRICS held an appeal for India. But with China on the rise with ambitions of holding sway far beyond its borders, that has changed. Engage with care.