Mideast countries will still value BRICS membership

Significance

This is the first time since 2010 that new members have been invited to join the group, signalling growing confidence among ‘middle powers’ and their intent to establish institutions that advance the interests of the global South -- though with questionable prospects of success.

Impacts

• BRICS+ will continue to expand, albeit over a lengthy period, with prospective future members coming exclusively from the global South.
• China could channel its regional political and economic weight to increase influence within the group, to the likely resentment of others.
• Algeria, which lobbied for but failed to gain membership, will focus attention on its upcoming membership of the UN Security Council.
• India’s proximity to the United States will dilute the group's positioning as a counterweight to US and Western-based institutions.