There can be no denying that joining BRICS would lay the foundations for defending the interests of the wider international community and catapulting Ethiopia’s economy. It is no hyperbole to say that the aforementioned reality on the ground is a historic milestone and record setting achievement. It is certain that the entire voyage in this regard was no bed of roses.
It is absolutely clear that since the start of joining BRICS, people from different socioeconomic groups have enunciated their contentment for the reason that the bloc will set the scene for advancing the country’s development paths. Aside from that, it would serve as a jumping-off point for the overall growth of the country in the short run.
Apart from boosting worth mentioning linkages with fellow member nations, the bloc beyond a shadow of a doubt timewill assist the progress of the country’s economy as quickly as possible putting in place a number of effective strategies.
Government highly encourages investors from the BRICS nations to seize the enormous investment opportunities available in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said.
Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum, the Premier in the recent past said that BRICS is well positioned to make a substantial global economic growth and sustainable development. “To fully realize this potential, we must actively work to ensure that global governance structures that are more representative, inclusive and responsive to the needs of the developing and emerging economies.
We advocate for the comprehensive reform of the global financial system to establish a more equitable framework. BRICS itself should set an example by expanding mutually beneficiary economic cooperation within member countries,” he said.
BRICS can serve as a standard for reformed global financial system that not only address the needs of its members, but also supports the development objectives of other emerging or developing economies.
Ethiopia’s rapidly expanding economy presents significant opportunities for investment, economic cooperation and trade particularly, for the BRICS nations. Ethiopia is endowed with abundant natural and agricultural resources offering access to large and diverse markets across Africa and beyond.
There is no doubt that this game-changing moment will play a paramount role in tackling economic quandaries and augmenting the import and export business of the country.
As joining the BRICS clears the way for the national economy of the country, all stakeholders in the present climate have embarked on forming an alliance and moving forward. As long as the bloc without a shred of a doubt can accelerate the country’s growth, relevant stakeholders have already set in motion making progress in the right direction.
By combining the advantages of each member state, BRICS will bolster a multipolar world that can counterbalance unnecessary pressure from leading superpowers. In more precise terms, Ethiopia’s admission into BRICS can smooth the path of forming very close cooperation and fast-tracking the country’s economy.
It should be remembered that Dareskedar Taye, lead researcher at the Ethiopia-based Institute of Foreign Affairs, in an analysis for the Valdai Club, recently highlighted the potential economic benefits as well as the diplomatic ones, according to information obtained from a source.
On the economy, Dareskedar describes Ethiopia as a “developing nation in dire need of external financing for use in fully realizing its development goals” and identifies the BRICS as key sources of new financing, both from member states as well as the BRICS financial institutions such as the NDB.
On the diplomatic front, Dareskedar describes how in the last few decades “Ethiopia has begun to exercise foreign policy independently in its relationship with the great powers”, and how during this period, “Ethiopia has maintained strong political, economic and security-related relations with the US and EU on the one hand and with China, Russia and India on the other hand”. He argues that Ethiopia has been trying to maintain “independence in the rapidly changing global order […] over the past fifteen years”, that its accession to the BRICS “has provided impetus” to these efforts, and that “joining BRICS has meant a lot to Ethiopia”.
Lukas Kupfernagel, head of the Ethiopia office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, pointed to the potential of the BRICS NDB when it became “fully functional” to give Ethiopia access to new forms of funding. He argued this could free the country from being dependent on Western institutions such as the IMF, and having to meet their conditions, “that would change the situation completely”, Kupefernagel stated.
Susanne Stollreiter, head of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Addis Ababa, said Ethiopia’s inclusion in this wave of BRICS expansion came as a surprise to some, as other African countries such as Nigeria and Algeria were thought more likely candidates, given their geographical and economic size. She argued other factors played a more decisive role: “Ethiopia is very important from a geopolitical point of view. Owing to its large population, its economy has the potential to grow strongly in the future”.
In the same fashion from income generating opportunities to technological advancement joining BRICS serves as a springboard for the development of the country. In actual fact, this milestone achievement and historic breakthrough without doubt will unleash a considerable number of blessings for the country.
Russian Federation Senator and Supreme Council Bureau Member of United Russia, Andrey Klimov, said that discussions and cooperation among BRICS and African parties are crucial to bring practical results. According to him, discussions and cooperation among BRICS ruling political parties and other African political parties will bring about practical results in the near future, as reported by the Ethiopian News Agency.
For instance, Russia recently hosted such a forum for BRICS family members, Klimov said, adding that there were representatives from different political parties, including Ethiopia’s Prosperity Party. “This is a good signal, but we’d like to go further,” he stressed.
At the Vladivostok forum, the parties — not only the Prosperity Party, but parties like the African National Congress and the Algerian party as well as others discussed a lot of things, Klimov stated. “We’re looking forward to having some more practical results of such kind of cooperation, either inside BRICS family or among our cooperation with African parties, in the nearest future,”
As Ethiopia has been getting involved in a number of ways, joining the BRICS would help forge ahead the country’s economy at the earliest possible juncture.
As admission to the BRICS bloc opens the door for taking the country to the next level of accomplishment in the various development trajectories, all relevant stakeholders should join hands in the timeliest manner possible. In doing so, propelling the country to unprecedented heights will not be easier said than done. It will end up becoming a walk in the park.
It is important to highlight that BRICS beyond question will clear the way forgetting to the bottom of quandaries through cold water on the development of the country as time goes by.
The BRICS Senior Officials National Technical Committee meeting was held recently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliberate on 2025 BRICS activities under Brazil’s BRICS Presidency, according to a local media
At the meeting, Ambassador Lemlem Fiseha, the Director General for International Organizations Affairs, and responsible for BRICS activities summarized Ethiopia’s achievements in 2024 and outlined Ethiopia’s BRICS 2025 Outlook.
Ambassador Lemlem stated that BRICS is an additional crucial platform for Ethiopia to foster partnerships that help realize its national interests and foreign policy objectives. She noted that Ethiopia will make the best use of the partnership and the bilateral relations with BRICS countries and partner states to attain tangible and mutually beneficial outcomes in the fields of agriculture, infrastructural development, health, education, trade, and investment among others.
As many unanimously agree, Ethiopia’s BRICS membership plays a paramount role in the overall economic progress of the country. For the attainment of the goal, all actors involved should pull out all the stops to exploit more from BRICS membership blessings.
During a past interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Melaku Mulualem, a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia stated that at the BRICS summit in Russia in 2024, new paper money for the BRICS member countries was proposed. This proposal shows the member countries’ commitment to having their own prominent currency for trading among themselves. This is a good initiative to apply the group’s decision to have a common currency.
This currency will increase Ethiopia’s international economic relationships with other countries. Ethiopia can import and export products from member countries using the new currency by minimizing transaction costs.
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 9 FEBRUARY 2025
