November 13-14, 2019, heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa gathered in Brasilia for the Eleventh BRICS Summit and the close of the bloc’s first ten years of formal, high-level meetings. Originally coined as potential investment markets by Goldman Sachs analyst Jim O’Neil in 2001 (with South Africa added in 2003), lackluster economic growth in Brazil, Russia, and South Africa, as well as tense bilateral relations between member states has raised questions about the bloc’s relevance. India recently opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership due to concerns about opening its market to Chinese goods, and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited territory claimed by both China and India during the summit. As the summit opened, there was speculation about how much the bloc could agree on economic matters, given that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who served as chair for this year’s summit, has been an outspoken critic of multilateralism as well as Brazil’s economic relationship with China. China, India, and Russia are at odds with Brazil regarding the ongoing political unrest in Venezuela. The summit successfully concluded with the signing of the Brasilia Declaration, which emphasized the members’ commitment to multilateralism, but also to “the principle of sovereignty.” Read the full RPI Policy Alert here.
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