The BRICS group has existed since 2009 and has done little to distinguish itself in 15 years. They created a mid-sized development bank, but other than that, the bloc's accomplishments have been rather modest.

That's now starting to change as the BRICS doubled in size to ten members, with around thirty other countries now on the waiting list.

At the latest BRICS Foreign Ministers gathering in western Russia last week, new initiatives harmonizing AI standards, currency transfers, and developing new business parks were among the issues on the agenda. While these may seem trivial in this era of war and Great Power rivalry, getting lots of small things done is actually a big deal.

Gustavo de Carvalho, a senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, is among the world's foremost scholars on the BRICS and joins Eric & Cobus from Johannesburg to discuss why it's time to start paying closer attention to this group.

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It's Time to Take the BRICS More Seriously

The China in Africa Podcast