BRICS needs to find its mojo once again

The governments of BRICS countries will have to coordinate efforts among themselves to regain their standing at a global level.

The just-concluded BRICS summit did not quite enjoy the kind of star billing that previous summits have. That's not very surprising considering that these five emerging economies, which account for 42 per cent of the world's population, 23 per cent of global GDP, 17 per cent of global trade and almost 14 per cent of World Bank voting power have, in recent years, punched below their weight.

Till three-four years ago, BRICS was considered the next big thing. The BRICS bank, capitalised with $100 billion and headquartered in Shanghai, was seen as a potential rival to the Bretton Woods institutions that could break the stranglehold of the West (and Japan) over global development finance.

But all the five economies have been facing headwinds over the last couple of years. This has somewhat reduced their clout. But what has really hurt is US President Donald Trump's unbridled trade war against China, the largest of the BRICS economies, and the Western hostility and sanctions against Russia.

This is unfortunate because a strong and influential BRICS grouping is important in shaping the new multi-polar world that is slowly but surely emerging. So, it is imperative that BRICS regains its mojo at the earliest.

The building blocks of another major global pole - economic heft, technological sophistication and political power - are still in place. The individual governments will have to co-ordinate efforts among themselves and also leverage their bilateral partnerships better to regain their magic on the world stage.