Politics

The economist who coined the term "BRICS" has claimed that the alliance, aimed at challenging Western nations, "has nothing to offer" beyond symbolic gestures.

Leaders from emerging economies were invited to the summit, held in Kazan, Russia, in an effort to position the group as an alternative to the established global order, while Moscow continues to face economic sanctions over the past two years.

In a column published last week in Project Syndicate, Jim O’Neill wrote: "The annual BRICS summit is an ideal occasion for political leaders like Vladimir Putin to promote a vision of a world that the United States does not lead. But each year also brings further confirmation that the grouping serves no real purpose beyond generating symbolic gestures and lofty rhetoric."

Jim O’Neill, a British economist now serving in the House of Lords, is often referred to as the "godfather" of BRICS, having first introduced the term in his 2001 publication Building Better Global Economic BRICs.

In that publication, Jim O’Neill argued that Russia, India, South Africa, China, and Brazil, the founding members of the alliance in 2006, would dominate the global economy by 2050.

However, Jim O’Neill now believes that BRICS has become a politically motivated organization with ambitions to rival the G7.

"Putin undoubtedly will use this year's summit to signal to the world that he is not as isolated as Western governments want him to be," he added.

(QG - Source : Newsweek / Picture: © Pixabay)