meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Brics tilts balance of regional interests

27 September 2023

 

With the extension of invitations to Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join the Brics group of major emerging economies – and the acceptance by the UAE – Middle East interests are represented within the bloc for the first time and could end up comprising a third of its total membership.

This potential shift in the geopolitical reorientation of Brics reflects two interests for the group. The first of these is the strategic nature of the Middle East, both in terms of energy and logistics. The second is the key role that Saudi Arabia and the UAE could play in challenging the dollar.

None of this is necessarily a hard sell. As it stands, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have reserved, business-like and occasionally testy relations with the US and the EU, while Iran is alienated by sanctions. All four Middle East countries meanwhile have strong and expanding trade relations with China and India.

From the perspective of China, India and Russia, the Middle Eastern invitees to Brics are ripe targets for being drawn further away from the sphere of Western influence. Brics, as a collective of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is already a counter of sorts to the G7 and aims to level the global playing field. 

The addition of six new members stands to not only increase the bloc’s leverage, but, in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, aims to add two countries that are also ambitious about raising their stature on the global stage.

Strategic partnership

In terms of economics, the proposed expansion of the Brics membership would increase the size of the bloc by about a tenth, adding markets responsible for $2.6tn in GDP and populated by 409 million people, as of 2021, according to the World Bank. This builds on an existing GDP of $27.3tn – $17.7tn of it from China alone – and a population of 3.6 billion people.

Of the invited countries, Saudi Arabia represents the largest single potential net gain for the group, with its economy valued at about twice that of existing member South Africa.

Trade ties are already extensive within the group. China and India are top trade partners for Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, so the prospective new Brics membership is building upon a framework of already highly interconnected and integrated economic relationships.

China is the single-most important trading partner of Saudi Arabia, accounting for 17 per cent of the kingdom’s foreign trade, while India accounts for about 9 per cent. The UAE and Egypt are also top trading partners for the kingdom. 

Overall, this means that the new prospective line-up of the Brics bloc could potentially represent a sizeable proportion of Saudi Arabia’s total trade moving forward.

China, India and Saudi Arabia are similarly two of the UAE’s top trade partners, while China, India and the UAE are all among Iran’s top trade partners. China and Saudi Arabia are likewise major trade partners for Egypt.

Though the expansion may represent a fractional upscaling in terms of market volume and value, the broadening of the bloc to strategic players in the Middle East could have an outsized potential to strengthen its member states’ global influence and collective bargaining.

Not least is the addition of three key members of oil producers’ group Opec – Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – and observer state Egypt, up from the single Opec+ party Russia. 

This stands to bring key energy producers into yet closer economic partnership with China and India, both major energy consumers. It could also be key to progressing the Brics ambition of loosening the hold of the dollar by transitioning major bilateral energy transactions conducted in dollars into other currencies.

Next steps

The UAE’s quick acceptance of the Brics invitation shows its enthusiasm for strategic advancement and the potential leverage that a more empowered bloc could represent. The country will nevertheless, like India, need to carefully balance its role in the group with its existing US partnership – perhaps more so than any of the other invitees.

The UAE’s agreements with China and India to trade in local currencies is already a major win for the bloc in its efforts to reduce reliance on the US dollar. The more ambitious proposal for a common Brics currency to counter dollar fluctuations remains complex and uncertain.

The likes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE do, however, have the financial clout and expertise to potentially place the Brics-established New Development Bank on firmer economic footing, improve its project management and help establish it as a more credible counterpart to the likes of the Washington-based IMF and the World Bank.

Much will hinge on which of the remaining invitees ultimately choose to join the bloc. 

Iran and Egypt are expected to swiftly follow the UAE in accepting. Saudi Arabia is still carefully weighing the invitation, cautious of the chilling effect that throwing in its lot too clearly with China could have on its US relationship. 

For both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join Brics would be a major coup for the bloc and a momentous shift in global politics.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11160270/main.gif
John Bambridge

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractor wins Dammam airport water infrastructure deal

    1 October 2026

    Saudi Arabia-based Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies has won an SR80m ($21.3m) contract to rehabilitate water and wastewater infrastructure at King Fahd International airport in Dammam in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

    The contract was awarded by Dammam Airports Company (DACO), and work is scheduled to be completed within 18 months, the firm said in a disclosure to the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) on 29 September.

    The scope covers the design, construction, supply, installation, replacement, rehabilitation and integration of water and wastewater infrastructure.

    It includes pumps, storage tanks and reservoirs, reverse osmosis facilities, piping and tie-ins, as well as electrical and instrumentation works.

    The award comes as DACO advances a wider programme of investment at King Fahd International airport.

    DACO signed more than SR1.2bn ($320m) in agreements in June covering airport infrastructure, including a new power station, a medium-voltage distribution network and upgrades to the existing electrical grid. 

    In September, it also appointed WSP Middle East, the regional arm of Canadian engineering firm WSP, to develop the airport’s expansion under its masterplan.

    The expansion is intended to increase annual passenger capacity to more than 19.3 million by 2030, with a longer-term target of 32 million passengers. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20169118/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Kuwait tenders LNG project

    1 October 2026

     

    State-owned Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (Kipic) has tendered a project to develop a reliquefaction unit at the Al-Zour liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

    The project focuses on developing a boil-off gas (BOG) unit at the terminal, with bids due on 22 December.

    A meeting for contractors to discuss the project is scheduled for 18 October.

    The project scope includes engineering, procurement and construction works, along with pre-commissioning, commissioning and performance testing services.

    The list of prequalified companies is:

    • Fluor (US)
    • GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
    • Larsen & Toubro (India)
    • Hyundai Engineering (South Korea)
    • CTCI Corporation (Taiwan)
    • Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Saipem (Italy)
    • Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
    • Sinopec Engineering (China)
    • JGC Holdings (Japan)
    • KBR (US)
    • China National Petroleum Corporation (China)
    • Technip (France)

    A BOG unit at an LNG facility captures, compresses and processes natural gas vapours that evaporate from cryogenic storage tanks, enabling the gas to be recycled back into the system rather than flared.

    In April, MEED revealed that contractors expected the project to be worth about $200m.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20168625/main2005.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Riyadh approaches contractors for 2km tower

    1 October 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reached out to contractors as part of a market-sounding exercise for the construction of the proposed 2-kilometre megatall tower project.

    MEED understands that a PIF subsidiary, the Tower District Real Estate Development Company, is undertaking the process.

    It is understood that several experienced international contractors, as well as some prominent local contractors, have been approached.

    The latest development follows PIF receiving offers in June last year from firms seeking a contract to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for a new central business district (CBD) on the outskirts of Riyadh, which includes the proposed 2km tower.

    The PMC role covers both the tower and the surrounding district.

    Firms understood to have been invited to bid include US-based Aecom, Jacobs, Parsons and Turner, as well as the UK’s Mace.

    UK-based Foster & Partners is working as the architect for the tower after winning a design competition launched in late 2022.

    Record breaker

    The proposed tower would be more than double the height of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which stands 828 metres tall. It is expected to be at least several hundred metres taller than the 1,000-metre-plus tower under construction in Jeddah.

    Contractors that have priced megatall towers in the region say a 2km-tall structure could cost about $5bn to construct, depending on the final design.

    The 2km tower and the surrounding CBD – known as Project Rise – sit within a larger masterplanned development to the north of Riyadh called the North Pole.

    MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
    > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
    > ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
    > BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
    > UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
    > DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
    > POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
    > WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
    > TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
    > DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shift

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20156496/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Singapore’s Temasek plans Middle East expansion

    1 October 2026

    Singapore’s Temasek plans to open offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi early next year as it targets investment and partnership opportunities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and the wider region.

    The state-owned investor had a net portfolio value of S$518bn ($401bn) as of 31 March 2026.

    It said the new offices will serve as regional hubs for Temasek and its portfolio companies, with some businesses expected to co-locate to work more closely with partners and pursue deals alongside the group. The openings are subject to regulatory approvals.

    Temasek said it will also step up engagement with institutions in Qatar, although it has not announced plans to establish an office there.

    The company said the expansion reflects its confidence in the region’s long-term fundamentals and the economic transformation being driven by national diversification programmes.

    It added that a presence in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi will also support investment activity beyond the region by improving access to opportunities across the wider Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.

    Several Temasek-owned or Temasek-backed companies are already active in the GCC, providing a platform for the group’s planned expansion.

    These include Singapore-headquartered engineering and consultancy firm Surbana Jurong, which has been involved in masterplanning and advisory work on major regional developments, alongside other portfolio companies with interests spanning infrastructure, logistics, financial services and technology.

    According to data from regional project tracker MEED Projects, Surbana Jurong is involved in several major projects in Saudi Arabia, including Red Sea Global’s Amaala masterplan, the Trojena dams scheme, Oxagon, King Salman International airport and Saudi Arabia Railway’s North-South Phosphate Railway 3.

    The firm has also worked on projects in the wider region, including the West Link project, Etihad Rail’s high-speed rail programme and Abu Dhabi airport’s Midfield Terminal.

    Surbana Jurong has also secured masterplanning contracts from Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities & Transport and Abu Dhabi Ports.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20157511/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Aldar and Arada to pursue Abu Dhabi projects

    1 October 2026

    UAE-based developers Aldar Properties and Arada have signed a partnership agreement targeting about AED15bn ($4bn) in development opportunities on Yas Island and in Abu Dhabi’s Seih Sdeirah.

    The deal includes a masterplan joint venture to develop a mixed-use community at Seih Sdeirah, on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border, and Arada’s purchase of three residential plots on Yas Island from Aldar.

    The Seih Sdeirah project will cover up to 1.5 million square metres (sq m) and will include villas, townhouses, and retail and leisure facilities.

    Arada will lead development and construction management, while both firms will jointly brand and market the community.

    On Yas Island, Arada has bought two canal-facing plots totalling more than 27,500 sq m, with nearly 130,000 sq m of gross floor area, as well as a third residential plot.

    Aldar said the companies will explore further collaboration across sectors and locations in the UAE.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20156829/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal