Introduction
In this first part of our series, we will only deal with the facts and figures around BRICS. We use the term “around BRICS” because there are two facts to keep in mind.
First, BRICS simply stands for the five countries which gives the name to this organisation: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. However, we will see in this article that another 11 countries have already formally applied for membership and another 24 countries have informally requested to join this organization.
“All the countries which are members in these respective Organisations, we call “The Global South”.”
Second, although BRICS itself is growing in leaps and bounds, there are several other organizations that are, let’s say, in the BRICS haze, and it is quite possible that these other organizations will merge with BRICS: I am talking about the Shanghai Corporation Organization (SCO), about the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), about the Arab League and about OPEC+. All the countries which are members in these respective Organisations, we call “The Global South”.
Our blog reported many times about these organizations and on July 10 we published the article “BRICS – the West is silent and afraid – rightly so“. In this article we briefly describe our previous articles and link to them so readers can read in. If they have not yet read these articles, we warmly recommend them, especially due to the fact that this coming event of the century has been hushed up by the West until today.
To the numerical data
In this first part, we introduce BRICS and the other organisations and provide figures that my partner, Denis Dobrin, who is the third person to join the VoicefromRussia alongside René Zittlau, has compiled by hand with great effort. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to have made this effort.
The sequence of material will be the same for all organisations as follows:
(1) Map showing the members geographically.
(2) pie charts showing the organization concerned in terms of population, PPP gross national product, oil production, natural gas production and gold production compared to the G7 and the rest of the world (countries which are neither part of the organization concerned nor of the G7).
(3) Table showing detailed figures for the facts shown in the graphs.
Facts about BRICS
Origin of BRICS
In 2006, 4 countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – the BRIC countries – met for the first time on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
A first formal meeting was held in Yekatarinenburg in 2009. The goal of this initially loose community was to improve cooperation among these countries.
In 2010, South Africa joined, which means that this organization has since been called BRICS.
Figures on current membership (BRICS)
Figures on BRICS plus formal applicants (BRICS+)
Figures on BRICS+ plus informal applicants (BRICS++)
Interim result
If we compare the three levels – BRICS, BRICS+ and BRICS++ with the Western community G7, the results are clear.
The BRICS community has between a factor of 4 and 7 more inhabitants.
Also concerning gross national product BRICS surpasses the G7.
Regarding oil production, BRICS++ will beat the G7 by a factor of 3.
Even in terms of natural gas, BRICS+ already beats G7.
It is clear that gold will again play a major role in the future world. The time where people are presented with worthless paper as having value is coming to an end. The G7 control 10% of the world’s gold production, BRICS++ 42%.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
Origin of SCO
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organisation founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001. The organization’s primary objectives include combating terrorism, separatism, and extremism, as well as enhancing border security and countering drug trafficking. Economic cooperation is another significant aspect, with a focus on improving trade, investment, and energy partnerships among member states.
Members
The SCO currently comprises nine Member States (China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), three Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia), thirteen “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi, Arabia, Sri Lanka, Türkiye and United Arab Emirates) and several countries applied for either observer or “Dialogue Partners” status (Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iraq, Israel and Syria).
A possible merger of SCO with BRICS
We can see, that the memberships of the important countries of BRICS+ and SCO are overlapping.
There are voices of experts – among others Alastair Macleod – who expect that BRICS+ will soon merge certain activities with the SCO.
Therefore, in our fact-gathering exercise, we shall add the members and future members of SCO to BRICS+.
The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
Origin of EEU
The EEU is an international organization for regional economic integration that provides for free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, pursues coordinated, harmonized and single policy in the sectors determined by the Treaty and international agreements within the Union.
The Union is being created to comprehensively upgrade, raise the competitiveness of and cooperation between the national economies, and to promote stable development in order to raise the living standards of the nations of the Member-States.
Members
The EEU currently comprises five Member States (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia), three Observer States (Cuba, Moldova and Uzbekistan) and four candidates for membership (Mongolia, Syria, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). The Free Trade Zone agreements are signed with nine countries (China, Egypt, Iran, Moldova, Serbia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam) and under negotiation with another eleven (Argentina, Cambodia, Chile, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mongolia, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates).
The League of Arab States
Origin of the League of Arab States
The League of Arab States is a regional organization in the Arab world which was formed in on 22 March 1945, initially with six members.
The purpose of the League is to draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate their political activities with the aim of realizing a close collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries including:
(a) Economic and financial matters, including trade, customs, currency, agriculture and industry;
(b) (communications, including railways, roads, aviation, navigation, and posts and telegraphs;
(c) Cultural matters;
(d) Matters connected with nationality, passports, visas, execution of judgments and extradition;
(e) Social welfare matters;
(f) Health matters.
We have described in more detail the development of the League of Arab States in our article “Peace breaks out – Arab Spring without blood“
Members
Currently the League of Arab States comprises twenty two Member States (Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen).
OPEC
Origin of OPEC
OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
OPEC’s objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.
Members
The OPEC currently comprises thirteen Member States (Algeria, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela). Another ten countries participate in the organization’s activities and initiatives (Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan). Altogether they are known as OPEC+.
Global South
Finally we would like to show you the combined figures of all five (BRICS++, SCO+, EEU+, Arab League and OPEC+) organizations.
Outlook to Part 2
Shorty, we will publish Part 2 of our series, in which we will discuss the possible path these organisations will follow and if and how these Organizations – most probably under the leadership of BRICS – will settle trades among them.
There are a lot of discussions by leading experts on many possible strategies and the creation of a new currency which could be used to settle trade among the member states and the role of gold in this whole construct.
We very much will try hard to prepare our readers well before the much anticipated BRICS Summit of August 22-24 in South Africa.