Heine Ponders Argentinian Application to Join BRICS

Amb. Jorge Heine

On August 23, 2023, Amb. Jorge Heine, Research Professor at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Interim Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, was quoted in a South China Morning Post article on the fruitfulness of Argentina’s bid to join the coalition of emerging economies made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS).

While Argentina’s advocacy in joining BRICS is not new, the BRICS countries’ appraisal is the first time in over a decade that the coalition has considered an outside country to join. Argentina’s application also has significant advantages over other countries that have applied, including being sanction-free.

However, Argentina’s application is not without issue. Heine commented on how Argentina’s membership to BRICS could complicate its membership to other international organizations, including financial institutions like the IMF. He also touched on Argentina’s internal disputes on joining BRICS, with a total lack of consensus on whether Argentina should be applying at all.

Read the full article here.

Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007), and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more about Ambassador Heine on his Pardee School faculty profile.