Background and Expansion of BRICS Summit

The recent BRICS Summit took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the attendance of heads of states or governments of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The headline announcement was the historic expansion of the group, inviting Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The expansion and the intention to diversify monetary transactions in the global south were primarily discussed in the geopolitical context, highlighting China's desire to counterbalance the G7 and Russia's defiance towards the West.