BRICS

BRICS is an acronym for the combined economies of Brazil, Russia, India,

China and South Africa. The acronym "BRICs" was initially formulated in 2001 by
economist Jim O'Neill, of Goldman Sachs. In 2011, these five countries were
among the fastest growing emerging markets. They have the potential to form a
powerful economic bloc. Due to lower labor and production costs, many
companies also cite BRICS as a source of foreign opportunity. 
In 2006, the four countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China, decided to have a regular
informal diplomatic coordination and organized annual meetings of Foreign
Ministers. This successful event led to the dialogue at the level of Heads of State
and Government in annual Summits. The first summit was organized in 2009 in
Yekaterinburg, Russia. In 2011 South Africa was included in this organization.
After the Yekaterinburg Summit, eight annual Summits were held. The last summit
took place in China, Xiamen in September 2017. The leaders of the member
countries have been holding at least one annual meeting.