Economic & Regional Blocs: G20, BRICS, ASEAN, SCO
Multilateral economic and regional blocs foster trade integration, diplomatic alignment, and collective security across key geopolitical regions. The Group of Twenty (G20), founded in 1999, convenes major developed and emerging economies accounting for 85 percent of global GDP. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and expanded members) advocates for reformed multilateralism and finances infrastructure via the New Development Bank (NDB) in Shanghai. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, headquartered in Jakarta), established by the Bangkok Declaration in 1967, promotes regional economic integration and the ASEAN Free Trade Area. Other notable regional groupings include the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the Bay of Bengal BIMSTEC initiative.
Key Concepts & Examination Highlights
- The G20 was established in 1999 as a finance ministers' forum following the Asian Financial Crisis and was elevated to leaders' summits in 2008.
- The New Development Bank (NDB), established by the BRICS nations in 2014 at the Fortaleza Summit, is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
- ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967, through the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its five founding members.
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), founded in 2001 in Shanghai, has its permanent secretariat in Beijing and anti-terror body (RATS) in Tashkent.