The first summit of the four-member BRIC bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in June 2009. South Africa’s inclusion transformed the grouping from BRIC to BRICS in April 2011, with the five-member bloc holding its sixth summit in the Brazilian cities of Fortaleza and Brasília in July 2014. Convened one month after the Fortaleza/ Brasília summit, CCR’s August 2014 seminar reflected critically on the first complete hosting cycle of six BRICS summits (June 2009–July 2014). The Tshwane meeting brought together about 30 key South African, BRICS, and other policymakers, academics, and civil society actors to assess the potential for increasing the impact of the BRICS on global politics, and to develop concrete recommendations in support of South Africa’s continuing engagement with the bloc.
