As the BRICS group expands with the addition of new member countries, it is undergoing changes that could have a real impact on its effectiveness for the functioning of an international system where order and peace prevail.

For the time being, the main changes that can be observed relate to the number, diversity and relative importance of the member countries.

From Argentina's point of view, three perspectives are relevant in assessing the importance of our inclusion in the BRICS group. The first is its value for a strategy of global international integration that encompasses all the options open to us in the world. The second is that of our insertion as a country into the various institutional spheres for the development of international trade and productive relations in which we can participate worldwide. Finally, there is the special relationship we have developed with the countries of our "neighborhood".

The relationship between our inclusion as a member of the BRICS group and our strategy of global international integration is given by the negotiations of the still pending bi-regional agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. Moreover, these negotiations should take place simultaneously with other large markets such as China, the United States and India.

It is quite clear that what we are proposing will require from Argentina, at all levels and not just the government, a negotiating effort and a use of concluded negotiations far beyond what we have been used to in the past. This is a major challenge that we will have to face in order to navigate the world in the coming years.

As the so-called BRICS group expands with the inclusion of new member countries, it is undergoing changes that, if consolidated over time, could have a real impact on its effectiveness for the functioning of an international system in which order and peace prevail.

It is obviously too early to draw conclusions about the innovations introduced and whether they can be seen as contributing to the effectiveness and rationality of the Group's functioning.

For the time being, the main changes that can be observed relate to the number, diversity and relative importance of its member countries. These are three characteristics that will have an impact on the Group's potential effectiveness in the immediate future and will require further attention.

The BRICS group was formed in 2009 with four countries: Brazil, China, India and Russia. It later expanded to include South Africa in 2010. In 2014, the New BRICS Development Bank was created. As of January 2024, according to the decision taken at the BRICS Summit in South Africa on 24 August 2023, it will be expanded to include six more countries: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran.

From Argentina's point of view, three perspectives are relevant in assessing the value of our inclusion in the BRICS group. They are by no means the only ones to be considered, but they are the ones that should be followed with greater attention.

The first of these perspectives is that of its value for the effective development of a global international integration strategy that encompasses all the options open to us in the world, regardless of the affinity we may have with each of them at any given time.

The second is that of our inclusion, as a participating country, in the various institutional spheres in which we can participate as a country, and in particular in those that have a role and an effective impact on the development of international trade and productive relations in which we can engage worldwide.

The third is its impact on the special relationship that Argentina has historically developed with the countries of the "neighborhood", that is to say with those countries that have a greater geographical proximity, such as the Mercosur countries, those of the "South American neighborhood" and also, in many respects, those of the "Latin American neighborhood".

A clear example of the relationship between our integration as a country into the BRICS group and our strategy of global international integration is the ongoing negotiations for a bi-regional agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. These have been very long negotiations, with an uncertain and in many respects still imprecise outcome. They are negotiations that should be seen as "negotiating processes" in which each step could open the way to further steps in the future. Perhaps now more than ever, these negotiations -or negotiation processes-should be conducted simultaneously with each of the other possible large market areas, such as China, the United States and India.

It is quite clear that what we have stated in the previous paragraphs will require from Argentina, at all levels and not just the government, a greater negotiating effort and utilization of concluded negotiations far beyond what we have been used to in the past. This is a major challenge that we will have to face in order to navigate the world in the coming years.

Recommended reading:

• Bercovich, Alejandro, "Metamorfosis de campaña y un mundo atónito frente a la Argentina", newspaper "BAE", Negocios, Buenos Aires, August 25,2023, page 7.
  
• Castro, Jorge, "China ofrece al Mercosur una opción frente al pacto con la UE", newspaper "Clarín", Sección Rural, Buenos Aires, June 10, 2023, page 24.
  
• Cichero, Damián, "La Argentina se suma a los BRICS: ¿Oportunidad o gran problema?", newspaper "El Economista", Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, p, 29.
  
• Corradini, Luisa, "Los BRICS les abren el juego a otros países del bloque", newspaper "La Nación", Sección El Mundo, Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, p,7.
  
• Chaguaceda, Armando, "La izquierda latinoamericana y China", newspaper "Perfil", El Observador, Buenos Aires, August 27, 2023, page 4.
  
• Demattei, Clarisa, "Lula consolida su poder como líder del Sur", newspaper "Perfil", Buenos Aires, August 27, 2023, page 41.
  
• Dinatale, Martín, "La Argentina se suma a los BRICS: de qué forma impactará en su posicionamiento internacional", newspaper "El Cronista", Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 5.
  
• Elizondo, Marcelo, "En la era de las redes", newspaper "Clarín", Buenos Aires, August 25, page 31.
  
• Giambiagi, Fabio, "Diez lecciones del Brasil para este momento de la Argentina", newspaper "La Nación", Sección Opinión, Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 9.
  
• Imray, Gerald; Magome, Mogmotsi, "BRICS is getting to new members", The Diplomat, August 25, 2023.
  
• Jacquelin, Claudio, "Las fragilidades argentinas, al desnudo", newspaper "La Nación". Sección Política. Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 11.
  
• Lerner, Andrés, "Ingreso a los BRICS: Argentina ya apura financiamiento para este año", newspaper Ámbito Financiero, Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 2.
  
• Merke, Federico; Stuenkel, Oliver, "¿Le conviene a la Argentina integrar el Brics?", newspaper "La Nación", Sección Opinión, September 1, 2023.
  
• Navarro, Soledad, "BRICS: qué es, quiénes lo integran y qué significan para la Argentina", newspaper "Clarín", Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 6.
  
• O'Neill, Jim, "The BRIC Road to Growth", London Publishing Partnership, London November 2013.
  
• O´Neill, Jim. "¿Does an expanded BRICS mean anything?", Project Syndicate, August 25, 2023.
  
• Perégo, Gustavo, "Jair Bolsonaro y Javier Milei: sin medias tintas", newspaper "El Cronista", Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 3.
  
• Rozemberg, Jaime, "Las gestiones de Lula y la incomodidad por Irán: el otro lado de las negociaciones", newspaper "La Nación", Sección Política, Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 9.
  
• Serbin, Andrés, "Cumbre de los BRICS: un gran "giro copernicano" en el sistema internacional", newspaper "Perfil", Buenos Aires, August 27, 2023, page 43.
  
• Shepherd, Christian, "Pekín y Moscú, en busca de un mayor contrapeso a Occidente", newspaper "La Nación", Sección Política, Buenos Aires, August 25, 2023, page 10.