BRICS is the name of an economic group of countries considered "emerging", currently formed by the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Unlike Mercosur or the European Union, the BRICS cannot be recognized as an official economic bloc, as it does not have a formal statute or registration. BRICS works only as an international political mechanism for mutual cooperation between member countries.
The Economist Jim O'Neil was the creator of the expression BRICs (until then with a lowercase "s" to designate the plural of BRIC), in 2001, with the intention to name a group formed by emerging countries that were in an economic situation similar. Brazil, Russia, India and China were the countries that initially formed the BRIC.
Until then, the BRIC was a concept used only by economists and political scientists to classify a group of developing countries with high economic potential. The nations that make up the BRICs have the potential to surpass the current major world powers in a period of up to five decades, according to experts in international politics.
However, as of 2006, the BRIC member countries decided to articulate and diplomatize the group, creating mutual support strategies among emerging nations. This decision was taken during the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations, which also served to improve communication between the BRICs.
In 2011 another country joined the BRIC, South Africa, changing the group's name to BRICS (with a capital "s" representing South Africa, English name of South Africa).
Many consider the BRICS as a threat to the current great world economic potentials, such as the United States and the European Union.
Bringing together about 45% of the workforce that exists on the planet and the largest consumer market, the BRICS manage to generate an average of 20% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year.
BRICS Bank
In 2014, during the VI BRICS Summit Conference, in Fortaleza, Brazil, the creation of the New Development Bank (NBD), also known as the "BRICS Bank" was made official.
The main objective of BRICS Bank it is to help finance the expansion of infrastructure in emerging and underdeveloped nations.
O New Development Bank it works as an alternative to the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund - IMF.
The BRICS Bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
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