The future contours of the evolving BRICS architecture have thus far been viewed largely through the prism of ad hoc decisions taken in the BRICS summits and reflected in the summit’s final declarations. But for the systemic and long-term changes that are decided upon in BRICS on issues such as institutionalization and policy continuity there may be a need to step back and take a broader view of the trends in the main regions of the Global South. What we see in this respect is that of these regions that include Africa, Latin America and Asia, it is Africa’s regional integration framework that offers the most credible and comprehensive model of the path forward for the BRICS+ bloc. If the future evolution of BRICS is to be based at least in part on the best practices developed at the regional level of the Global South, Africa’s model of institutionalization, policy continuity as well as outreach may be a crucial reference point for the BRICS+ group as well as for other regions and regional platforms of emerging market economies.
In our policy papers of the past several years as well as earlier works that date back to 2017, the key priority advanced for the BRICS+ bloc was the creation of cooperative platforms that would include[1]:
- A platform for the regional integration arrangements of the Global South, of which BRICS+ economies are members
- A platform for the regional development banks of BRICS+ economies
- A platform for the regional financing arrangements (RFAs)
- A platform for the sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) of BRICS+ economies
In addition to these mechanisms of economic cooperation, we recently called for the greater institutionalization of the BRICS group via exploring such options as:
– A headquarters and a Secretariat for BRICS+
– A Troika mechanism (modelled on the G20 Troika) that would bring together the current, the past year’s and the next year’s presidency in the group, contributing to greater policy continuity.
The degree to which these features are incorporated into the regional/continental platforms of the Global South varies significantly, with notable progress being attained in some of the regions in the course of the past decade.
Of the three regions of the developing world, Asia is the most represented in the core membership of the BRICS bloc as well as its partnership belt (6 out of 10 core members). At the same time, it is also one of the less institutionalized regions in terms of either a pan-continental platform for regional development institutions or the creation of pan-continental regional arrangements with headquarters and a Secretariat. Granted, Asia does harbor some of the most successful regional arrangements such as ASEAN and with respect to RFAs there is the Chiang-Mai initiative that brings together the ASEAN+3 economies. The AIIB has also launched coordination platforms for Asia’s regional institutions in the sphere of project financing. Nonetheless, there is not yet sufficient scale in Asia’s pan-continental integration efforts, including with respect to advancing greater coordination among Asia’s regional integration arrangements and their development institutions.
The pan-continental integration framework is somewhat more advanced in Latin America with platforms such as CELAC as well as development institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In terms of RFAs, there is the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR), though its membership does not cover the majority of the region’s economies. Overall, the scale of the coordination and platform-building in Latin America is not yet reaching consistently continental scale, which is particularly relevant to the coordination among the regional integration arrangements.
Compared to other parts of the developing world, the African continent arguably stands out as the most advanced in the Global South in terms of the development of cooperative platforms for regional integration arrangements and the coordination of regional development institutions. In the sphere of institutional development, the African Union and its Secretariat with headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ensures continuous governance and the continent’s representation on the international arena. The Troika mechanism that operates similarly to the G20 Troika ensures greater continuity in the handover of policy priorities from one presidency to the next, with the Troika mechanism also increasingly used by Africa to represent the bloc on the international stage and in its outreach to the international community.
In terms of the platform for regional integration arrangements, Africa was one of the front-runners in developing a framework for the “integration of integrations”, namely a platform for the regional integration arrangements of the continent, bringing together the following Regional Economic Communities (RECs): Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Southern African Development Community (SADC)[2].
As regards the development institutions, Africa has introduced a common platform for regional development banks, namely the Alliance for African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI) – this platform launched in 2024 in Addis Ababa, includes such regional development banks from Africa as the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), the West African Development Bank (BOAD), and the East African Development Bank (EADB)[3]. The aim of the platform is to consolidate resources to finance priority development projects, including those pertaining to Africa’s Agenda 2063[4].
Africa was also among the first to pioneer continental platforms for sovereign wealth funds such as the African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) – this is “a pan-African forum established in June 2022 in Rabat, Morocco, brings together African sovereign investors to promote cooperation, knowledge exchange, and coordinated capital deployment in support of Africa’s structural transformation” [5]. The platform currently includes 17 member institutions and operates the ASIF Investment Platform (ASIF IP) to mobilize long-term capital across the African continent. The creation of such a platform builds on an emphatic trend of a rising number of SWFs in the continent – according to the Sovereign Wealth Funds Institute (SWFI), “there are 32 national and subnational sovereign wealth funds in Africa (with $600 billion in assets under management), nearly half of which were established between 2010 and 2022”[6]. Importantly, Africa is seeking to bring development platforms such as ASIF and regional development banks towards closer coordination in financing the continent’s development – this has been recently undertaken via advancing the partnership between the African Development Bank and ASIF in mobilizing capital for new projects and the implementation of the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD)[7].
With respect to the regional financing arrangements (RFAs), there is ongoing work directed at launching the operations of the African Monetary Fund (AMF) – the respective treaty was signed in 2014, yet the ratification process has stalled since then[8]. The one RFA that is currently in operation with African countries’ participation is the Arab Monetary Fund established in 1976 and based in Abu Dhabi. Of the 22 members of this RFA 10 members include developing economies from North and East African nations – Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, and Tunisia. Once the African Monetary Fund is launched and fully operational, it may work together with other RFAs in the continent as well as the BRICS CRA.
Overall, the future model of institutionalization and decision-making for BRICS may be based on the best practices of the Global South across its three main regions – Africa, Latin America and Asia. The “African model” or integration framework is not the only one to be explored in the BRICS context, with Asia and Latin America potentially providing their valuable contributions. Furthermore, Africa’s regional projects have not always progressed uniformly and some have stalled – as was the case with the approval of the launching of the AMF facility. At the same time, thus far Africa offers the most complete set of possible institutional solutions, including platforms for regional development banks, regional integration arrangements and sovereign wealth funds, a headquarters and a Secretariat as well as a Troika mechanism that provides for policy continuity from one presidency to the next. All these hallmarks of Africa’s model of regional integration may serve as important reference points for the current debate within BRICS on the institutionalization and policy continuity – Africa’s members in the BRICS core may advance this “African model” for BRICS institutionalization during their upcoming presidencies in the bloc[9].
[1] https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-mechanics-of-brics-a-tentative-blueprint/
[2] https://brics-plus-analytics.org/what-the-brics-could-learn-from-the-african-union/
[3] https://www.afreximbank.com/african-multilateral-financial-institutions-forge-historic-strategic-alliance-to-serve-as-catalyst-for-sustainable-economic-development-and-financial-self-reliance-in-africa/
[4] https://africacenter.org/spotlight/progress-agenda-2063/
[5] https://asif2026luanda.com/
[6] https://africa-news-agency.com/african-sovereign-wealth-funds-the-new-strategic-weapon-of-economic-sovereignty/
[7] https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/african-development-bank-and-african-sovereign-wealth-fund-forum-deepen-partnership-mobilise-african-capital-infrastructure-95423
[8] https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/36417-treaty-0046_-_protocol_on_the_establishment_of_the_african_monetary_fund_e.pdf
[9] https://brics-plus-analytics.org/africa-within-the-expanded-brics/
Yaroslav Lissovolik, Founder, BRICS+ Analytics
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