British economist Jim O’Neill coined the original acronym “BRIC” in November 2001 while working as the chief economist for Goldman Sachs.
It stood for Brazil, India, Russia and China.
His paper, ‘Building Better Global Economic BRICs’, argued that the weight of these economies in the world economy would rise significantly and called for their greater representation in global policymaking forums.
What started purely as a Wall Street investment shorthand eventually transformed into a formal geopolitical bloc. South Africa was added to the group in 2010, changing the acronym from BRIC to BRICS.
Since then, the grouping has expanded to 11 countries and has become a major voice of the Global South.
Speaking to NDTV ahead of the 20th BRICS summit in New Delhi, O’Neill said that while he argued for better representation and inclusion of these countries in the G7, the bloc has now evolved into presenting itself as an alternative to G7 countries.
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“When I wrote that paper in 2001, I was arguing that BRIC countries have already become so important that they should be part of a reconfigured G7 to make global governance more representative and fairer,” O’Neill told NDTV.
“This summit of 11 is now representing itself as an alternative to the existing G7 and the Western-dominated system,” he added.
But O’Neill cautioned that big global issues cannot be answered by one group or the other and needed a collaborative approach.
“Neither BRICS nor G7 by itself can deal with big global issues.”
BRICS Summit in Delhi September 12, 13
Talking about the geopolitical heft of the group and reactions to it in the Western world, O’Neill pointed out that the biggest marker of this group’s importance is that Trump doesn’t stop talking about it.
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“The group’s expansion into BRICS Plus has given it strength and longevity. I have never seen any US president before Trump even mentioning BRICS, and Trump doesn’t stop talking about it,” the renowned economist remarked.
He, however, lamented that the group has not achieved its full economic potential. “There are a number of things BRICS Plus countries can do if they are much more focused than they have been till now,” he said.
“BRICS countries have not demonstrated anything to help a shared GDP growth of the group, which should be the number one priority.”
Pitching for better India and China relations, he said that both have made great economic progress.
“On the economic front, the two countries that matter truly are China and India. Both have gone ahead of any projections. The rest of the BRICS have not done so well.”
Underlining the importance of President Xi’s visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit, O’Neill said that it is a very important development.
“President Xi’s visit in seven years is potentially very important. I have always argued if China and India treat each other with respect and positively, it will have great impact not just on BRICS, but on the world as a whole.”
