Though the expansion of BRICS was not agreed earlier by the founding member, the role played by Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyrill Ramaphosa find the inclusion of some important countries which can play a pivotal role in making the group an alternative to a unipolar world.
Experts think that the BRICS will be the biggest bloc of the top emerging economies in near future.
The BRICS bloc has taken a major step at the 15th BRICS Summit to admit six more countries as new members from next year.
The BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- agreed at their annual summit to make Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates full members from January 1.
The leaders reiterated their commitment to inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. They expressed their concerns about ongoing conflicts in many parts of the world.
“We stress our commitment to the peaceful resolution of differences and disputes through dialogue and inclusive consultation”, said BRICS chair president and South African President CyrillRamaphosa.
The summit has surprised many in Dhaka as Bangladesh is not on the list although Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s participation in the summit events in Johannesburg generated much interest in Bangladesh since June when the host South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa invited her during a meeting in Geneva.
Many are seeing this as Bangladesh might have decided to take a go-slow strategy now. It could be a strategic plan of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the general election is knocking at our door. According to them, it might indicate that the government did not want to give any message to the West by joining the bloc.
However, following the footsteps of our founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, our Prime Minister and country always follow a policy that says, “Friendship to all and malice to none”.
The presence of our prime minister at the XV BRICS summit would help Bangladesh to continue good relationships with the BRICS members going forward. Having good relationship would help us certainly to enjoy the benefits of the BRICS process and Bangladesh is already a member of the BRICS bank, New Development Bank.
Experts anticipated that Bangladesh's membership to BRICS would be delayed as those who became members were in the process for long. They think that this is the first phase of expansion, and this will open the opportunity for Bangladesh to be a member in future.
Media reports suggest the analysts are of the view that following factors might have been considered in including new members:
Global politics, economic indicators, and an attempt to bring regional emerging economies into the bloc.
According to Bloomberg economists, “The original BRIC members had two things in common: large economies, and high potential growth rates. The expanded BRICS-11 is a less coherent group — some are going through crises, others are thriving. This could signal an expansion of the agenda beyond economics".
Hence, Bangladesh is still optimistic and there are ample opportunities lying ahead for Bangladesh despite this decision taken at XV BRICS Summit on expansion. Bangladesh is currently being run by the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman whose farsightedness and determination will make Bangladesh win the race at any point of time.
Bangladeshi people need to have some patience to understand and realize where prime minister wants to take Bangladesh for ensuring the welfare of its people. Sheikh Hasina is already a role model of development and success to the world. It is our turn to appreciate and trust Sheikh Hasina.