2. Trade Policy of brics countries

Various sources refer to a purported "original" BRIC agreement that predates the Goldman Sachs thesis. Some of these sources claim that President Vladimir Putin of Russia was the driving force behind this original cooperative coalition of developing BRIC countries. However, thus far, no text has been made public of any formal agreement to which all four BRIC states are signatories. This does not mean, however, that they have not reached a multitude of bilateral or even quadrilateral agreements. Evidence of agreements of this type are abundant and are available on the foreign ministry websites of each of the four countries. Trilateral agreements and frameworks made among the BRICs include the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (member states include Russia and China, observers include India) and the IBSA Trilateral Forum, which unites Brazil, India, and South Africa in annual dialogues. Also important to note is the G-20 coalition of developing states which includes all the BRICs.

Also, because of the popularity of the Goldman Sachs thesis "BRIC", this term has sometimes been extended whereby "BRICK" (K for South Korea), "BRIMC" (M for Mexico), "BRICA" (GCC Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates) and "BRICET" (including Eastern Europe and Turkey) have become more generic marketing terms to refer to these emerging markets.

In an August 2010 op-ed, Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs argued that Africa could be considered the next BRIC. Analysts from rival banks have sought to move beyond the BRIC concept, by introducing their own groupings of emerging markets. Proposals include CIVETs (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa), the EAGLES (Emerging and Growth-Leading Economies) and the 7 per cent Club (which includes those countries which have averaged economic growth of at least 7 per cent a year).

South Africa sought BRIC membership since 2009 and the process for formal admission began as early as August 2010. South Africa was officially admitted as a BRIC nation on December 24, 2010 after being invited by China and the other BRIC countries to join the group. The capital “S” in BRICS stands for South Africa. President Jacob Zuma attend the BRICS summit in Sanya in April 2011 as a full member. South Africa stands at a unique position to influence African economic growth and investment. According to Jim O'neill of Goldman Sachs who originally coined the term, Africa's combined current gross domestic product is reasonably similar to that of Brazil and Russia, and slightly above that of India. South Africa is a "gateway" to Southern Africa and Africa in general as the most developed African country. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, and India wants to increase commercial ties to Africa. South Africa is also Africa’s largest economy, but as number 31 in global GDP economies it is far behind its new partners.

Jim O'Neill expressed surprise when South Africa joined BRIC since South Africa's economy is a quarter of the size of Russia's (the least economically powerful BRIC nation). He believed that the potential was there but did not anticipate inclusion of South Africa at this stage. Martyn Davies, a South African emerging markets expert, argued that the decision to invite South Africa made little commercial sense but was politically astute given China's attempts to establish a foothold in Africa. Further, South Africa's inclusion in BRICS may translate to greater South African support for China in global fora.

African credentials are important geopolitically, giving BRICS a four-continent breadth, influence and trade opportunities. South Africa's addition is a deft political move that further enhances BRICS’ power and status. In the original essay that coined the term, Goldman Sachs did not argue that the BRICs would organize themselves into an economic bloc, or a formal trading association which this move signifies.

BRICS, originally "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010, is the title of an association of emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia,India, China and South Africa. With the possible exception of Russia,^[3] the BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs. As of 2013, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, with a combined nominal GDP of US$14.9 trillion, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves. Presently, India holds the chair of the BRICS group.

Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China, has described the BRICS countries as defenders and promoters of developing countries and a force for world peace. However, some analysts have highlighted potential divisions and weaknesses in the grouping, such as India and China's disagreements over territorial issues, the failure of the BRICS to establish a World Bank-analogue development agency, slowing growth rates, and disputes between the members over UN Security Council reform.

The foreign ministers of the initial four BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) met in New York City in September 2006, beginning a series of high-level meetings. A full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on May 16, 2008.

First BRIC summit

The BRIC grouping's first formal summit commenced in Yekaterinburg on June 16, 2009, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, all attending. The summit's focus was on means of improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions, and discussed how the four countries could better co-operate in the future. There was further discussion of ways that developing countries, such as the BRIC members, could become more involved in global affairs.

In the aftermath of the Yekaterinburg summit, the BRIC nations announced the need for a new global reserve currency, which would have to be 'diversified, stable and predictable'. Although the statement that was released did not directly criticise the perceived 'dominance' of the US dollar – something which Russia had attacked in the past – it did spark a fall in the value of the dollar against other major currencies.

Entry of South Africa

In 2010, South Africa began efforts to join the BRIC grouping, and the process for its formal admission began in August of that year. South Africa officially became a member nation on December 24, 2010, after being formally invited by the BRIC countries to join the group. The group was renamed BRICS – with the "S" standing for South Africa – to reflect the group's expanded membership. In April 2011, South African President Jacob Zuma attended the 2011 BRICS summit in Sanya, China, as a full member.

Developments

The BRICS Forum, an independent international organisation encouraging commercial, political and cultural cooperation between the BRICS nations, was formed in 2011. In June 2012, the BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to boost the International Monetary Fund's lending power. However, this loan is conditional on IMF voting reforms.

BRICS summits

The grouping has held annual summits since 2009, with member countries taking turns to host. Prior to South Africa's admission, two BRIC summits were held, in 2009 and 2010. The first five-member BRICS summit was held in 2011. The most recent summit took place in New Delhi, India, on March 29, 2012. The next BRICS summit is scheduled to take place in Durban, South Africa, in March 2013.

Summit	Participants	Date	Host country	Host leader	Location
1st	BRIC	June 16, 2009	Russia	Dmitry Medvedev	Yekaterinburg
2nd	BRIC	April 16, 2010	Brazil	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	Brasília
3rd	BRICS	April 14, 2011	China	Hu Jintao	Sanya
4th	BRICS	March 29, 2012	India	Manmohan Singh	New Delhi
5th	BRICS	March 26–27, 2013	South Africa	Jacob Zuma	Durban

Member countries

The table below lists the leaders, finance ministers and central bank governors of the five BRICS member countries. The countries' respective gross domestic products (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI) ratings are also included.

Member	Leader		Finance minister		Central bank governor	2012 nominal GDP (overall • per capita) $US		2011 HDI
Brazil	President	Dilma Rousseff	Minister of Finance	Guido Mantega	Alexandre Tombini	2,425 billion	12,339	0.718
Russia	President	Vladimir Putin	Minister of Finance	Anton Siluanov	Sergey Mikhaylovich Ignatyev	1,953 billion	13,764	0.755
India	Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh	Minister of Finance	P. Chidambaram	Duvvuri Subbarao	1,946 billion	1,591	0.547
China	President	Hu Jintao	Minister of Finance	Xie Xuren	Zhou Xiaochuan	8,250 billion	6,094	0.687
South Africa	President	Jacob Zuma	Minister of Finance	Pravin Gordhan	Gill Marcus	390 billion	7,635	0.619