Will BRICS change its name to reflect new membership?

Following the admission of six new members to BRICS, speculations as to whether the organisation will have a name change, increased.

The organisation comprises of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and its name is derived from the initials of these countries. So, will the BRICS name change to reflect the initials of its new members? You’ll find out in this article.

Meanwhile, the newly admitted members are Egypt, Iran, Argentina, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

BRICS admitted the countries at its 15th annual summit in South Africa. The summit was attended by leaders of all member states, and that of some non-member states. Representatives of countries that showed interest in joining the group, were also present.

What is BRICS?

The intergovernmental organisation was formed in September 2006, by the then-foreign ministers and leaders of its founding nations – Brazil, China, Russia, and India.

Many describe the organisation as a group of fast-growing economies that would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050. Some also believe the group exists to challenge the United States-led unipolar world.

As of 2018, the group boasts a combined nominal GDP of US$28.06 trillion (about 26.6% of the gross world product), a total GDP (PPP) of around US$56.65 trillion (32.5% of global GDP PPP), and an estimated US$4.46 trillion in combined foreign reserves.

Will BRICS change its name to reflect new members?

The group’s initial name was BRIC. However, when the group admitted South Africa in December 2010, the name changed to BRICS. The “S” was added to reflect South Africa’s membership.

But will the group repeat that this time around? The answer is simply NO. The name of the organisation will continue to be BRICS.

This has been confirmed by South African diplomat and BRICS’ Sherpa, Professor Anil Sooklal.

According to him, BRICS needs no name changes to reflect the names of newly admitted. He believes the group is a solid global brand whose name should not be subjected to changes very often.

“I don’t think so, because BRICS has established itself as a global brand,” Sooklal said.

He was speaking in an interview with TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency.

The diplomat further stated, “That term is acceptable globally, and at no stage during our discussions at the level of Sherpa or foreign ministers or leaders that the issue of a name change ever arise.”

Meanwhile, membership of the newly admitted countries will officially take effect in January next year.