Context

The five BRICS nations are scheduled to meet during the 15th BRICS Summit taking place in South Africa from August 22-24. Initially under the acronym BRIC, before South Africa was invited for membership in 2010, BRICS began as an optimistic term to describe the world’s emerging economies at the time. It became increasingly active in the geopolitical arena by trying to offer an alternative to the existing political forums of the West. Ahead of the upcoming BRICS Summit, the five-nation bloc could extend as 19 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, issued their interest in closer cooperation and obtaining a chair at the negotiation table.