New Delhi, July 14 -- At first there were four. Then five. And now eleven. Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have joined Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (collectively called Brics) in the newly expanded Brics+ group of nations.

Brics+ is an eclectic grouping of countries. It owes its conception to a Wall Street report written a quarter of a century ago about the initial four 'Bric' countries and the promise of their economic prospects, mostly driven by demographics. What began as a clubbing meant for global investors to focus on has since evolved into a formal alternative platform for countries to counter Western dominance of multilateral institutions. This makes it an important forum for a post Pax-Ame...