Banners for the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan are on display on October 20, 2024, as preparations for the summit to be held in the Russian city from October 22 to 24 are underway. Photo: VCG

As leaders of the BRICS members are about to gather in Russia's Kazan for the 16th BRICS Summit, one trend that has been under spotlight and expected to be of a key agenda during the summit is the growing waitlist to join BRICS. 

The BRICS, founded by China, Russia, India and Brazil, with South Africa joining in 2011, welcomed new members on January 1, 2024 in a historic expansion. 

According to media reports, dozens of countries have expressed interest or officially filed an application to join this big family. 

The next wave of BRICS expansion will be announced at the group's annual summit in Kazan, Russia Today reported. 

At least 34 countries have expressed interest to join, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a senior BRICS meeting in early September.

Countries that are on the waitlist include Malaysia, Thailand, Nigeria, Bolivia and even Turkey, which is a NATO member. 

The latest country to join the bid was Sri Lanka as its Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath announced this month to submit its application at the Kazan summit, according to the Xinhua News Agency on October 14.  

The expanding list has demonstrated the unique appeal of BRICS for countries across different continents, especially among the Global South countries, and their enthusiasm has been ignited by development opportunities the BRICS can bring as well as the platform's inclusive and open nature.  

'BRICS is the future'

According to the China Central Television (CCTV,) the expanded BRICS has increased to 35.6 percent of the world's GDP, and its share of the world GDP has exceeded the Group of Seven (G7) in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). 

BRICS accounts for more than one-third of the Earth's dry land, 45 percent of the world's population (3.6 billion), over 40 percent of all oil production, and about a quarter of the world's exports of goods, according to public data.

The appeal of BRICS lies in the economic opportunities it can bring, Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing, said on Sunday.

The large BRICS population means vast market, rich resources and energy in particular, and great potential in investment, Wang said. 

Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, a professor and the director for Center for Contemporary China-Africa Research in Nigeria, told the Global Times that "By engaging with BRICS, Nigeria stands to benefit from enhanced currency stability and closer ties to newly emerging global economies." 

BRICS Plus represents the future of the international economic system, primarily reflecting the interests of developing economies in the Global South. It holds promise for Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asian countries, Ibrahim said, "We believe BRICS is the future."

Thailand's decision to join the BRICS reflects its approach to maximize economic opportunities and strategic outlook toward diversifying economic partnerships, said Tharakorn Wusatirakul, the president of the BRI Institute of Research Development on Economics and Education in Thailand. 

Non-Western style

Ibrahim from Nigeria said that BRICS is redirecting the global economic system to build a more peaceful, equal, and democratic international order. The focus will be on inclusive development, ensuring that developing countries are included without any form of domination, conditionality, or external imposition, he said. 

BRICS differs from West-led economic mechanism as the latter either excludes developing countries or treats them as prey, Ibrahim said. 

Wusatirakul saw BRICS' emphasis on economic cooperation among its members, focusing on development, trade, and investment opportunities within the bloc, as a contrast to West-led organizations which often prioritize economic policies that reflect the interests and priorities of the advanced economies.

Therefore, BRICS not only means immediate opportunities for economic growth and development, but serves as a platform for emerging economies to assert their interests and influence on the global stage, observers said.

BRICS popularity aligns with the collective emergence of the Global South countries, which have long been marginalized in international affairs, and their joint pursuit of autonomy and bigger say determines the West-dominant international governance needs to reform to remain relevant, Wang said. 

BRICS' appeal for the Global South lies in its philosophy of openness, inclusiveness, fairness and justice in global governance, analysts noted. 

BRICS is a non-Western organization, but it is not anti-West, as it does not aim to replace, counterbalance, or cast aside the existing system, Wang noted.

He noted that the BRICS' philosophy is about making a bigger pie and sharing it more equally, rather than taking the pie of power away from the West's hand.