Making Sense of Ethiopia Admission to ‘BRICS plus’













By Eyob AsfawOn 24 August 2023, the news of Ethiopia, along with Argentina, Egypt, UAE, KSA and  Iran ,  admitting to  the ‘BRICS plus’ went viral as of 24 August 2023.   To our dismay, the news is overshadowed by the ongoing security crackdown in the Amhara region and politicians from any sides unable neither to praise nor to curse it rather stayed indifferent.  In spite of the existing conflict status quo, the news is worthy to be a  good news per se. Notably,  to be admitted out of the 23 applicants from which great power such as France also enlisted to be pended until now.  In appraisal of the recent summit, it hosted entirely 70 country delegation comprised from members, prospective members and non-members. This piece will spotlight on the prospect of BRICS Plus and how we can make sense of Ethiopia admission to the group. When she was asked about the prospect of BRICS plus,  Kori Shaki – fellow at American Enterprise Institute, bragged in defense for the west where the BRICS couldn’t probably neither a third block in its race for power rivalry over the international arena. Rather, she commented that ‘I am sympathetic for fellow countries to be manipulated by the China in their race against the west’. Moreover, they mock that the BRICS without china would be ‘bris’ stressing the presence of China made the group to weigh above any country else. Hilariously, some teased as BRICS plus membership paves the way for ‘Petroyuan’ instead of the Petrodollar dictatorship emerged since 1970’s.  Notwithstanding Kori’s belittling comment, as it stands before admitting BRICS plus, the group comprises  42 % of the world population,   23 % of world GDP and 18 % of the world trade.  The world statistics publicized the GDP composition of each BRIKS country in its twitter hundle as follows:  Brazil : $2.08 trillion , Russia:  $2.06 trillion, India: $3.74 trillion , China: $19.37 trillion, South Africa:  $399 billion. In the calculus of the BRICS plus, countries who will join BRICS starting from January 1st, 2024 comprised GDP as follows: Argentina $641 billion , Egypt $387 billion, Ethiopia: $156 billion, Iran: $367 billion, Saudi Arabia: $1.06 trillion and  UAE: $499 billion. In sum, the GDP of the entire 11 countries of BRICS plus will comprise: $30.76 trillion (30% of the global economy). In comparison, one can note that elevating the group  from BRICS to BRICS plus, one can see that there 7 % increment in their share of global GDP. In resonance, in his congratulatory short videotaped message, Abiy Ahmed primarily felt gratitude for China before the rest of the groups. In fact, he characterized the moment of BRICS admission is a testament to the rest of the world fairly understand us other than anybody else. Irrespective of the political tone of his opinion, his remark runs erroneous. Infact, an excerpt from his speech at the summit expounds that: “A reformed multilateralism entails inclusivity, cooperation and diversity of voices and interests. By amplifying voices from various corners of the globe, we can collaboratively work for an equitable and peaceful world.”What is the comparative advantage of joining ‘BRICS plus’?Alternative financing scheme for development: Undoubtedly, joining the BRICS plus can help Ethiopia to tap the BRICS’s ‘New Development Bank’. The bank was established as a counter rival to the world bank as alternative sources of financing development. Headquartered in Shangai, the bank was established in 2015 with approved 32 Billion Dollar ever since. The number is promisingly significant in comparison to the World Bank’s 132 billion dollar approved in 2022 alone. A month ago, we reminisces  Minister Beleta Moll’s twitter thread which publicized as “The BRICS New Development Bank has agreed to finance some of Rosatom’s energy projects, the company’s CEO has revealed Russia &a Ethiopia have signed a roadmap on nuclear energy cooperation, the head of Russian atomic energy major Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev’. Alternative climate financing: In its formative ages, the BRICS grouping considered hunger and poverty eradication for financing the development endeavors each countries. Now the financing can be scalable to other components of sustainable development goals per se. An update from ISS today remarked that ‘As the world reels from climate disasters, with little progress on climate change multilateral negotiations; it’s time for new alliances to accelerate responses and investments, reduce our climate risk and increase human security’.Multilateralism and thrive of the global south: the UN Secretary General- António Guterres shared in his tweet that: “I have come to the BRICS Summit with a simple message: in a fracturing world overwhelmed by crises, there is simply no alternative to cooperation. As we move towards a multipolar world, we must urgently restore trust & reinvigorate multilateralism for the 21st century.” His remark resonates with multilateralism for which lamented these days as he also stressed it in his recent ‘new agenda for peace policy brief’. Undoubtedly, the admission to the BRCIS is one step to play score in the diplomatic and economic dice played within an age of multi-polar world. Conclusively, notwithstanding its quest for peace in the days to come, Ethiopia’s admission to ‘BRICS plus’ will yet to be tested in the years to come whether it yields fruition as it is celebrated now.