Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa held the BRICS Summit from Aug. 22-24, hoping to reduce the world’s reliance on the U.S. dollar. Although some incremental strides might have been achieved in this direction, a more significant development revolves around the bloc’s outreach to six new countries.

Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan explains why the inclusion of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia in BRICS guarantees the bloc will not accomplish anything meaningful.

Excerpted from Peter’s Aug. 25 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:

Have you ever seen a couple of 3-year-olds sitting on the playground talking gibberish and acting like they’re making life-changing decisions? Well, that’s what’s going on at the BRICS summit in South Africa this week.

BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and if you’re struggling to find some overlap between those countries…you’re not alone. With limited economic ties and diverse interests, this group of countries struggles to connect on anything meaningful.

To complicate matters further, BRICS is looking to add some new members to their ranks: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina. I urge you to try and come up with a worse list of mid-tier countries to bring on if you want to expand your geopolitical influence.

The varying interests of the current and new members will likely halt any meaningful conversation. The practical significance of this summit and BRICS as a whole is – limited – to say the least. And if you were hoping this would shake up the global landscape, I’m sorry to burst your bubble.