Today, on Sunday, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, the financial advisor to the Prime Minister, highlighted the significance of Iraq becoming a member of the BRICS group. He emphasized the necessity of taking this step for the future of sustainable development and the progress of Iraq’s economy.
In a press statement, Saleh explained that the BRICS group is an economic alliance consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The name “BRICS” was coined by Jim O’Neill, an economic expert from Goldman Sachs Financial, in 2001 to describe the rapidly growing economies that are expected to dominate the global economy by 2050.
“Iraq has expressed its desire to join the BRICS group due to the strong economic connections it shares with the markets of the BRICS group. The current account of the Iraqi balance of payments with the countries of this economic group reflects the objective basis for this desire. The BRICS group comprises the strongest emerging markets in the world and a significant percentage of Iraq’s oil exports, which is no less than 55 percent, directly depends on the countries within this group, especially India and China,” said the speaker.
He explained that around 70% of Iraq’s imports are sourced from the BRICS countries themselves. This implies that Iraq’s strong economic interests and commercial partnership automatically lead towards international economic cooperation with its commercial partners, especially in broadening the flow of investments from the group and obtaining benefits for joining. This serves the future of sustainable development and economic progress in Iraq.
The BRICS group consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These countries cover 27% of the world’s land area and are home to 42% of the global population. They are considered potential emerging great powers, with India, China, and Russia being among the ten largest countries in the world in terms of population, area, and gross domestic product (according to purchasing power parity standard). All five countries in the BRICS group are also members of the G20, which includes the United States and other leading economies.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani confirmed Iraq’s willingness to join BRICS with an invitation from the member countries.
