ASSIGNMENT # 2

SUBMITTED BY

Muhammad Zohaib (10456)

SUPERVISOR

Sir Asim Mumtaz

BRICS MEMBERS.........................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3

PURPOSE OF BRICS.................................................................................................................3

ATTRACTIONS OF BRICS MEMBERS..................................................................................4

PROBLEMS OF BRICS MEMBERS.........................................................................................7

SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION........................................................................9

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................9

PURPOSE OF FORMATION...................................................................................................10

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 BRICS MEMBERS

INTRODUCTION

The BRICS is an association formed by countries in four continents: Brazil in the Americas,

Russia in Europe, India and China in Asia and South Africa in Africa. Its member states cover an

area of over 39,000,000 square kilometers, which is approximately 27% of the world's land

surface.

Coordination between Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) began informally in 2006,

with a working meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries on the sidelines of the

United Nations General Assembly. Since then, the acronym, created a few years earlier by the

financial market, no longer confined itself to identifying four emerging economies. BRIC

became a mechanism for cooperation in areas that have the potential to generate concrete results

for Brazilians and the peoples of the other member countries.

PURPOSE OF BRICS

It main objectives are:

 Promote technological information exchange among member country

 Improve education of BRICS nations

 Economic cooperation

 Bridging the gap between developed and developing countries

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  Climate change, cultural tie ups and assistance in projects, finances, trade extension etc.

BRICS has also agreed to provide financial assistance, support to countries other than

members.

ATTRACTIONS / OPPORTUNITIES OF BRICS MEMBERS

With their growing economies, rising incomes with young and expanding population, the

five emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa offer a wealth of

opportunities for companies to expand/enter the region. Increasing demand plays a major role in

the development of these economies.

The five emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are tipped to

provide some of the most exciting growth opportunities in various industry sectors. All five

economies performed well over the review period. Growth opportunities and prospects are good

in these countries.

Rising demographics coupled with increasing youth population is a driver for all these

countries. The five markets have large populations, ranging from 1367.8 million in China to 54

million in South Africa. Most of this population is either semi-skilled or skilled, with South

Africa increasing at the highest rate of 7.44% till 2020. Compared to developed markets, regular

household sizes are large in all of these countries. But this is gradually changing due to

urbanization, increasing number of single home families, working women and late marriages.

Other attractive factors in the growth of BRICS nations are high population, young

workforce and cheap labor, high purchasing power parity, high economic growth (except Brazil),

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availability of resources, growth in transportation sector, un-matured and untapped markets in

most of the countries.

China:

China is the most populous country in the world, home of 1.33 trillion people. China is a big

potential market for manufacturing, because of its Rare Earth Metal reserves. About 90% of

World’s rare earth metal reserves are in China, which gives them a competitive edge over others.

China is a young nation with lots of potential but steadily growing old because of its one child

policy. Low cost labor and easy labor availability is helping all the sectors in the country to

grow. China is the biggest exporter worldwide,

India:

India has a large sized middle class which is growing, offering a large domestic market for

foreign products and services. If India continues its recent growth trend, average household

income will nearly triple over the next two (2) decades and it is expected to become the world’s

5th largest consumer economy by 2025, according to a McKinsey report in 2010. The consistent

economic growth in India has been an important factor that has contributed towards the decline

in poverty.

South Africa:

The highest growth industries in South Africa are textiles, food processing, mining,

automobiles, chemicals & fertilizers, machinery, and communications. The retail and financial

services industry of South Africa are the most sophisticated on the continent with an effective

regional presence. Majority of the reserves come from the diamonds, gold, titanium, platinum,
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manganese and mining greatly contributing to GDP. The coal mining industry provides 95% of

coal reserves to meet its energy needs. South Africa provides nearly 50% of electricity to the

entire continent. With nearly 30 million South African using mobile phones and internet

penetration to be 29% (world average: 41%) the ICT industry is seeing a major growth

trajectory. The South African dairy industry which operates on free market principle produces

2.4 billion liters per year and employs nearly 60000 people.

The economy largely depends on foreign trade and China, USA and Germany are seen as

South Africa’s biggest trade partners. The main imports to the country are processed foods,

chemicals, original equipment components, oil and energy. The automotive production

development plan aims to boost local production XX.XX million vehicles by 2020 by

encouraging the use of local components.

Russia:

Russia, a country riddled with a troubled past, a recent catapult to prosperity, is indisputably

a land of opportunities. The leading country in Emerging Europe, Russia is no stranger to

international politics affecting its economy.

Russia has about 87 billion barrels of oil, and about 1163trillion cubic feet of natural gas

reserves. Making up about 70% of all export value, and contributing about 30% to the country’s

federal budget and a quarter of the GDP, oil’s contribution to Russia’s GDP is projected to

further increase to 50% in the coming decades.

It is the increase in global prices of oil that drove the growth of Russian economy,

catapulting it to the foremost position in the list of Emerging European countries.

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Brazil:

Brazil is the 6th most populated country in the world. Its consumer market is set to overtake

that of France and UK by 2020, becoming the 5th largest in the world.

Other attractive factors in the growth of BRICS nations are high population, young

workforce and cheap labor, high purchasing power parity, high economic growth (except Brazil),

availability of resources, growth in transportation sector, un-matured and untapped markets in

most of the countries.

PROBLEMS OF BRICS MEMBERS

There are a number of internal problems which hinder the development of the economies of

the BRICS countries:

 Inflation (in 2013 inflation rate in India was 10.9 %, Russia – 6, 8, Brazil at 6.2%, South

Africa up 3.3%, China – 2.6%).

 Unemployment: According to World Bank data, the highest unemployment rates in South

Africa 25%, and the lowest is observed in India and China, where the rate over the last 10

years has not exceeded the 5% mark.

 Demography: today one of the acute problems of the countries of the Association. China

and India suffer from overpopulation, in Russia and especially in South Africa, on the

contrary, the lack of population.

 Corruption: According to the rating of corruption for 2016год South Africa ranked 67,

Brazil – 69, India – 85, China 100, Russia - 136.

 The underdevelopment of the financial market.

 The volatility of the national currency.

The BRICS must pay attention to their internal cohesiveness – that is, the governance of

economic and social issues in and among the BRICS countries. The Sino-Indian Doklam border

confrontation before the Xiamen summit chilled relations between China and India, and it raised

many worries about the participation of India in the Xiamen summit. The unconditional

withdrawal of India from the Doklam area erased the worries, but the incident demonstrated that

to construct a peace and security dialogue among the BRICS countries is very important and

urgent.

In addition, because the economic structures and development trends of the BRICS countries

are very similar, it is inevitable that there will be economic competition and even conflicts.

Therefore, it is necessary to establish an arbitration mechanism to resolve such conflicts.

International skepticism about the BRICS’ prospects mainly reflects the slow economic

growth, high unemployment rates and severe inflation of Russia, Brazil and South Africa. The

economic downturn has also led to an increase in social problems like strikes and crime.

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 SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION

INTRODUCTION

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an international organization, was

established in 2001 as a multilateral association to ensure security and maintain stability across

the vast Eurasian region, join forces to counteract emerging challenges and threats, and enhance

trade, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

It is located in Beijing. The current SCO Secretary-General is Rashid Alimov of Tajikistan.

The eight permanent members of the SCO are:

1. China

2. Kazakhstan

3. Kyrgyzstan

4. Russia

5. Tajikistan

6. Uzbekistan

7. India

8. Pakistan

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PURPOSE OF FORMATION

The aim of SCO is to establish cooperation between member nations on:

 Security-related concerns

 Resolving border issues

 Military cooperation

 Intelligence sharing

 Countering terrorism

 Countering American influence in Central Asia

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