T. L. DEITCH Candidate of Historical Sciences E. N. KORENDYASOV PhD in Economics Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: BRICS, Africa, cooperation, trade, investment, raw materials, infrastructure Africa is developing a new vector of development of political, diplomatic and foreign economic relations, which opens up the prospect for the continent to optimize the effectiveness of these ties and weaken the dominance of the Euro-Atlantic community in this area. The role of such a vector is increasingly being adopted by BRICS. This abbreviation is used in the international arena by a new international forum consisting of Brazil, China, India, Russia and the Republic of South Africa (since 2011)*. Today, these countries account for 26% of the earth's surface, 42% of the population, 18% (according to PPP - up to 25%) of the total world GDP, 40% of world gold and foreign exchange reserves 1. THE EMERGENCE OF BRICS Until 2006, the abbreviation BRIC remained mainly in the materials of Goldman Sachs. In 2006, the first meeting of the foreign Ministers of the four countries was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and in 2008, during the G8 summit in Japan (Hokkaido), the first meeting of the heads of these states took place. Financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009 accelerated the process of consolidation of the new association. At Russia's initiative, the first official BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg in June 2009. Since then, four summits of the group have been held, regular contacts are being held between the foreign ministers, and meetings are being held at the ministerial level in various areas - finance, trade, security, statistics, and agriculture. At the 4th Summit in Beijing in May 2011, BRIC became BRICS: Its fifth member is South Africa. South Africa sees admission to the group as a major success of its foreign policy and international recognition of its potential. At a conference in Durban marking the 150th anniversary of t ... Read more