Via Oliver Stuenkel and Margot Treadwell in carnegieendowment.org: At the BRICS summit last month, one leader was noticeably absent from the family photo of assembled leaders: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Over a year after the kingdom was offered membership to the bloc, the invitation remains unanswered, and the crown prince passed on attending the 2024 summit. Instead, the Saudi foreign minister arrived for only the final day of the gathering. For its part, Saudi Arabia is hedging its commitment to a group that itself constitutes a hedging club for other middle powers. The motivations driving its ambiguous strategy deserve a closer look. Saudi Arabia’s assessment is likely influenced by BRICS’s decision to invite Iran, as well as Russia’s aggressive rhetoric and plans to reduce the importance of the U.S. dollar. These moves could transform BRICS into an anti-Western club and jeopardize Saudi Arabia’s economic and security relationship with the United States. Furthermore, the bloc’s inclusion of Iran and the UAE places the countries on equal footing with Saudi Arabia at a time when Riyadh seeks to project itself as the regional leader.
