The BRICS came as an alternative to the G7 bloc of leading advanced economies and have been advocating the interests of the Global South, including reforms in the global institutions and financial architecture.
The recently concluded BRICS Summit in Johannesburg and the G20 Summit in New Delhi was a significant stride in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) multi-aligned diplomatic endeavours. In recent years, the UAE has ensured that it would not succumb to the pressures of geopolitical rivalries, especially in the light of the war in Ukraine — instead, the country’s foreign policy aimed at fostering its economic interests by taking advantage of the multipolarity prevailing in the contemporary geopolitical landscape. The recent two summits clearly demonstrated this policy of the UAE.
On 24 August 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the decision of the BRICS leadership to invite the UAE, along with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, to join the bloc beginning from 1 January 2024. The BRICS expansion happened for the first time since 2010 — South Africa was the last entrant to this bloc of emerging economies, initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China. The BRICS came as an alternative to the G7 bloc of leading advanced economies and have been advocating the interests of the Global South, including reforms in the global institutions and financial architecture. The UAE had expressed interest in joining the bloc and became a member of the BRICS’s New Development Bank on 4 October 2021.
The BRICS expansion is significant as the six new member-states would alter the geopolitical dynamics and pose a counterweight to the Western hegemony. The BRICS bloc, with its new entrants, represents 29 per cent of the global economy and 46 per cent of the total world population. Moreover, the expansion would double the bloc’s share of global oil production to 43 per cent with the entry of Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE. Meanwhile, the expansion is a golden opportunity for the UAE to advance its interests, especially in gaining access to new markets and expanding investment opportunities. The UAE has been diversifying its economy to reduce its reliance on oil, and building new partnerships is crucial for moving towards a post-oil era. In the UAE’s ‘Principles of the 50’ strategic document (2021), the country underscored that its foreign policy is a tool to serve its “economic interests.”
The UAE’s entry into the BRICS does not make it anti-West, like many in the bloc. The country recognises the strategic importance of its relations with the United States, Europe, and other Western powers in pursuing its economic interests. It was evident in the G20 summit held in New Delhi last week as the UAE participated in the summit as a guest at the invitation of India. The UAE played a pivotal role in advancing the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced at the sidelines of the G20 summit. The IMEC will be a joint initiative by the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union to connect ports in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe through a railway network and stimulate economic development.
The IMEC is considered a counterbalance to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). US President Joe Biden publicly acknowledged the role of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in conceiving the IMEC. Thanking Sheikh Mohamed during the announcement of IMEC, Biden said: “I don’t think we would be here without you.” However, the UAE does not see IMEC as an alternative to BRI — the country looks forward to reap benefits from both initiatives to advance its economic interests. China is the UAE’s largest trading partner, and their bilateral trade touched US$ 99 billion in 2022 with an annual increase of 37.4 per cent, as China increases its foothold in the Middle East.
The UAE maintained a neutral position on the war in Ukraine and held a cordial relationship with Russia despite the Western sanctions and condemnations of Russia. In June 2023, Sheikh Mohamed visited St. Petersburg and met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an economic forum. The UAE leader called for a “political solution” for the war in Ukraine “through dialogue and diplomacy.” Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the UAE and Russia increased by 68 per cent, reaching US$ 9 billion last year. The UAE is one of the few countries maintaining direct flights to Moscow. For many Russians, the UAE became one of their favourite destinations for investments after the war.
The UAE-India bilateral relations are also at its zenith. Last year, the UAE and India entered into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and saw a significant rise in their bilateral trade. The UAE-India trade rose to US$ 85 billion in 2022, making India the UAE’s second-largest trading partner. During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE in July 2023, the two countries signed two MoUs for using local currencies for cross-border transactions and interlinking payment services. The UAE is also important to India as its third-largest trading partner and home to 3.5 million Indian expatriates. India’s invitation to the UAE to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi is a testimony to it.
The UAE remains equidistant from the geopolitical rivalries and breaks away from the conventional ‘with us or them’ politics. The country recognises that taking a side in a multipolar world order is not feasible for its economic interests, which is central to the UAE’s foreign policy agenda. Hence, the country has embraced a pragmatic policy of multi-alignment. The UAE’s entry into the BRICS bloc is not anti-West, and its support for IMEC is not anti-China. The Western powers are valuable partners of the UAE, and so are China, Russia, India and all others conducive to advancing its economic interests.
https://www.financialexpress.com/business/defence-brics-g20-and-the-uaes-multi-alignment-3243608/
