That is hardly surprising, given that these countries have very different political systems, economies, and national goals, and are located in very different parts of the world. Yet the five emerging economies pride themselves on forming the first important non-Western global initiative.
Lack of common ground among the BRICS has prompted cynics to call the grouping an acronym with no substance. To its protagonists, however, it is a product of today's ongoing global power shifts, and has the potential to evolve into a major instrument in shaping the architecture of global governance - the midwife of a new international order. After all, the BRICS economies are likely to be the most important source of future global growth. They represent more than a quarter of the Earth's landmass, over 41% of its population, almost 25% of world GDP, and nearly half of all foreign-exchange and gold reserves. The BRICS, in fact, might also be dubbed the R-5, after its members' currencies - the real, ruble, rupee, renminbi, and rand.
