The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are holding a three-day summit in Johannesburg to challenge Western economic domination in global affairs.
- The group was formally launched in 2009 and meets annually at a summit hosted by one of the member countries to assert their position in relation to the United States and the European Union.
- The BRICS promotes a multipolar global order with economic and political balance, aiming to break away from post-World War II organizations like the World Bank and the IMF.
- The bloc is open to expansion, and 23 candidates have applied to join, including Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
- The New Development Bank, established in 2015, offers an alternative to the World Bank and the IMF and has invested $30 billion in infrastructure development projects in member states and other developing economies.
- Diplomatic tensions arose when Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has an ICC arrest warrant over the war in Ukraine, was invited to the summit. He eventually attended via video link.
- The BRICS countries aim to reduce their reliance on the US dollar in international trade and support the use of national currencies and the development of a common payment system. Brazil and China have signed a bilateral agreement to settle their trade in their local currencies.