Making Brics count: Summit highlighted diminishing global relevance

The lengthy, nearly 16,000-word Rio de Janeiro Declaration, which followed the summit, made all the right noises about "inclusive and sustainable" governance

The joint statement issued by the Brics summit, hosted by Brazil, may have attracted the ire of United States (US) President Donald Trump for its criticism of the bombing of Iran and tariff-based protectionism. But this unexpected attention from an erratic US President does not detract from doubts about the grouping’s relevance. The catchy acronym Bric was coined by a Goldman Sachs economist in 2001 to designate a group of prominent emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. This grouping first met in a formal summit in 2009; South Africa’s attendance at the second summit in 2010 rounded off