Page 26 - RusRPTSept23

the West. Most smaller developing countries find themselves caught in an even more unpleasant position between the world’s powerful nations and are under pressure to pick sides, which they resist as best they can, trying to get the best deal they can from the competing nations.
Nevertheless, at least 23 other countries have applied for BRICS membership; many of them, like Russia and China, having been on the receiving end of US ire.
As bne IntelliNews has reported, more than 40 countries have expressed a desire to join BRICS, according to South Africa, which is hosting the BRICS summit. However, their names have not been released. Amongst those that have declared publicly that they want to join and have submitted a formal request are Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt and Ethiopia.
From BRIC to BRICS to BRICS+
The original criteria for being a "BRIC" country, a term coined by legendary analyst Jim O’Neill in 2001, were very simple: be a big country, have a big population and have a lot of economic potential.
The BRIC group became a political organisation at its inaugural meeting in 2009 in Yekaterinburg in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010, adding the "S", although by O’Neill’s criteria it should not have been able to as it is too small.
Looking at the new members, it is notable that the Middle East, which plays a smaller role in the Western-led institutions, is well represented, with the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) being primus inter pares. The UAE, meanwhile, has built up excellent relations with Russia in the past year and a half. It is home to a substantial number of rich Russians and their businesses that have left the motherland to escape sanctions.
Longstanding close ties between the US and KSA have soured in recent years since the shale revolution in America made the US self-dependent in oil and a rival to the KSA as it became a net exporter.
At the same time, Riyadh's relations with Russia have warmed; Moscow long resisted joining the OPEC cartel, led by KSA, happy to piggyback on OPEC production cuts to drive up prices. The US has stayed outside of the cartel for the same reasons.
However, things changed in 2016, when Russia, along with other neutral oil producers, joined an expanded OPEC+ group to better control international oil prices. Since then relations between Riyadh and Moscow have improved dramatically.
RUSSIA Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com