# GHANA AND BRICS: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TRANSFORMATION, BUT ALSO A TEST OF POLITICAL MATURITY
*Why Ghana must look beyond diplomatic symbolism and prepare for the economic, political and institutional responsibilities of closer cooperation with emerging economies.*
Ghana has announced its intention to apply to join BRICS as a partner country. I welcome the initiative because I believe Ghana should broaden its international economic relationships, strengthen its cooperation with emerging economies and explore new opportunities for investment, industrialisation and technological development.
However, supporting this initiative should not prevent us from asking some difficult but necessary questions.
**What does Ghana expect to gain from BRICS, what responsibilities will accompany participation, and are our political and economic institutions prepared to make the most of this opportunity?**
These questions deserve serious consideration, particularly in a country where political transitions, changes in economic priorities and difficulties with policy implementation have sometimes complicated long-term development efforts.
My position is straightforward: Ghana should pursue international partnerships that advance its national interests. But the success of such partnerships will depend less on diplomatic announcements than on our ability to translate them into consistent policies, productive investments and measurable improvements in the lives of our citizens.
## 1. WHY BRICS MATTERS TO GHANA
BRICS brings together major emerging and developing economies, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The grouping provides a platform for cooperation on economic development, trade, investment and international governance. It also reflects the growing demand among developing countries for a greater voice in shaping global economic and political institutions.
For Ghana, closer engagement with BRICS could create opportunities in several areas.
**First, investment and industrialisation.**
Ghana needs productive investment that creates employment, expands domestic manufacturing, strengthens agriculture and supports the development of local enterprises.
Relationships with BRICS countries could help mobilise capital, technology and expertise for these purposes. However, investment must be assessed on its economic merits. The objective should not simply be to attract foreign capital, but to build productive capacity within Ghana.
**Second, technology transfer.**
Cooperation with countries possessing substantial technological and industrial capabilities could support the development of Ghanaian expertise in digital services, pharmaceuticals, agricultural processing, renewable energy, transport infrastructure and other strategic sectors.
The emphasis must be on developing our own capabilities rather than remaining permanently dependent on imported technology and external expertise.
**Third, diversification of economic partnerships.**
Ghana should not unnecessarily restrict its development options to a narrow group of international partners.
Expanding cooperation with India, China, Brazil, South Africa and other BRICS countries could complement existing relationships with Europe, North America and international development institutions.
Diversification is not an act of hostility towards existing partners. It is a means of expanding the range of opportunities available to Ghana.
**Fourth, a stronger voice in international affairs.**
Ghana has a longstanding tradition of participating in international diplomacy and advocating African interests. Greater engagement with BRICS could provide additional opportunities to discuss reforms to global governance and the representation of developing countries in international institutions.
Nevertheless, influence cannot be measured simply by the number of international organisations or groupings to which a country belongs. It must also be demonstrated through constructive participation, credible positions and the ability to advance practical proposals.
## 2. PARTNER-COUNTRY STATUS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
It is important to distinguish between full BRICS membership and partner-country status.
Following the clarification by Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister on 10 October 2026, Ghana’s intention is to apply for partner-country status rather than full membership.
Under the BRICS framework, partner countries can be invited to participate in selected summits, ministerial meetings and other activities. They may also endorse certain declarations and joint documents.
However, partner-country status does not confer all the same rights or participation opportunities as full membership.
The application must also be accepted by the existing BRICS members.
This distinction should inform the national discussion. Ghana should assess the practical opportunities available under partner-country status, rather than assume that applying to join BRICS automatically provides the full benefits associated with membership.
Equally, we should not exaggerate the obligations involved.
BRICS is not a conventional international organisation established by a constitutive treaty, with its own permanent secretariat and central budget. Its cooperation is organised through consultations, rotating presidencies, declarations and agreed initiatives.
Consequently, the responsibilities associated with participation are not equivalent to those arising from membership of a treaty-based organisation.
Nevertheless, the absence of a conventional treaty does not mean the absence of expectations.
Participation requires diplomatic engagement, constructive cooperation, respect for agreed principles and a willingness to maintain working relationships with countries whose interests and political systems may differ considerably from our own.
For Ghana, understanding these expectations before entering the partnership will be essential.
## 3. THE CHALLENGE OF POLITICAL CONTINUITY
One of the most important questions concerns Ghana’s domestic political environment.
Ghana has maintained a competitive multiparty democratic system and experienced peaceful transfers of political power. These are significant institutional achievements.
However, successive administrations have also pursued different economic priorities, adjusted development programmes and faced difficulties in sustaining certain initiatives over time.
This raises a fundamental question: **Can Ghana maintain a consistent international economic strategy when political leadership changes?**
A relationship with BRICS should not be treated as the personal diplomatic project of one administration.
Nor should it become a political instrument used by one party to criticise another or to claim exclusive ownership of Ghana’s international relationships.
If engagement with BRICS is to contribute meaningfully to national development, its objectives must be sufficiently clear, transparent and broadly understood to survive changes of government.
For example, Ghana could establish a national framework identifying the economic and diplomatic objectives it seeks to achieve through BRICS cooperation.
Such a framework could specify priorities for investment, industrial development, technology transfer, agricultural modernisation and export expansion.
It could also establish measurable indicators against which progress would be assessed.
Political parties may legitimately disagree about particular policies. However, they should recognise the long-term national interest in maintaining productive international relationships and evaluating them on the basis of evidence rather than partisan considerations.
The objective should be continuity in national development priorities, even when the administration responsible for implementing them changes.
## 4. NON-ALIGNMENT MUST MEAN MORE THAN A SLOGAN
Ghana’s government has presented the proposed BRICS engagement as part of a broader strategy to diversify international partnerships without abandoning existing relationships.
This is an important distinction.
Ghana’s national interests are not necessarily served by choosing one geopolitical camp at the expense of all others.
Our country needs access to international markets, development finance, technology, investment and diplomatic cooperation across a broad range of partners.
India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa have different economic interests and foreign policy priorities. They do not always agree with one another, and BRICS should not be understood as a completely unified political or economic bloc.
The same principle applies to Ghana’s relationships with the United States, the European Union and other traditional partners.
A policy of non-alignment should therefore be understood as the capacity to make decisions independently, on the basis of Ghana’s interests and applicable international commitments.
It should not mean automatic support for every position advanced by a BRICS member.
Nor should it mean automatic opposition to the positions of countries outside the grouping.
This distinction will become particularly important when international disagreements arise over security, trade, sanctions, human rights or the reform of global institutions.
BRICS partner-country criteria include maintaining good diplomatic relations with full members, supporting multilateralism and refraining from imposing sanctions without authorisation from the United Nations Security Council.
Ghana will therefore need to understand the framework’s expectations and consider how its participation will interact with its existing international commitments.
The objective should be a foreign policy that is independent without being unpredictable, and cooperative without surrendering the freedom to make decisions in the national interest.
## 5. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS WILL NOT ARRIVE AUTOMATICALLY
There is a danger in treating membership of an international grouping as if it were itself a development strategy.
Ghana already has numerous bilateral agreements, development partnerships and international economic relationships.
Yet the existence of such relationships does not automatically produce industrial transformation, sufficient employment or higher living standards.
The same principle applies to BRICS.
Closer cooperation could create opportunities, but Ghana must have the domestic capacity to identify, negotiate, implement and monitor productive projects.
Consider five priorities.
**A. Strengthening domestic production**
Ghana should seek investment that increases the domestic production of goods and services, reduces avoidable import dependence and creates opportunities for Ghanaian enterprises.
Projects should be evaluated according to their contribution to productivity, employment, technology transfer and domestic value addition.
**B. Expanding opportunities for micro and small businesses**
International economic cooperation must not benefit only large companies and major infrastructure projects.
Ghana’s micro and small businesses need better access to productive capital, modern management practices, digital services, markets and technical knowledge.
Cooperation with BRICS countries should explore practical mechanisms through which smaller Ghanaian enterprises can participate in supply chains and benefit from new investment.
**C. Developing skills and technology**
Training agreements should be linked to identifiable economic needs.
Ghana should seek opportunities for technical education, industrial apprenticeships, research cooperation and the development of digital capabilities.
The objective should be to ensure that Ghanaian workers and businesses acquire skills that enable them to participate in higher-value economic activities.
**D. Protecting economic sustainability**
Infrastructure and industrial projects should be assessed carefully in terms of their financing, expected returns, maintenance requirements and wider economic effects.
Ghana must avoid entering arrangements that generate substantial immediate expenditure without establishing a credible path to long-term economic benefits.
Foreign investment is not automatically beneficial simply because it comes from a new partner.
**E. Measuring results**
Every major cooperation initiative should have clearly defined objectives and measurable outcomes.
How many jobs will be created? How much additional production will result? What proportion of project expenditure will remain within Ghana? What technology or skills will be transferred? What will the project contribute to exports and productivity?
These questions should form part of the assessment of individual projects.
Ultimately, the value of Ghana’s engagement with BRICS should be measured by what it contributes to the transformation of the Ghanaian economy.
## 6. GHANA NEEDS INSTITUTIONS THAT CAN DELIVER
A further challenge concerns the relationship between diplomatic agreements and domestic implementation.
International partnerships frequently involve negotiations between governments, public institutions and private investors.
However, even well-intentioned agreements can produce disappointing results when responsibilities are unclear, implementation is delayed or institutional coordination is weak.
Ghana should therefore consider establishing a clear mechanism for coordinating its engagement with BRICS.
This mechanism could bring together the relevant ministries, investment promotion institutions, industry representatives, research organisations and other stakeholders.
Its responsibilities could include identifying priority projects, coordinating negotiations, monitoring implementation and publishing periodic assessments of results.
Transparency would be particularly important where public funds, sovereign guarantees, natural resources or long-term infrastructure commitments are involved.
Parliament should exercise its appropriate oversight responsibilities, while businesses, researchers and civil society should have opportunities to contribute to the national discussion.
Such arrangements would help ensure that international cooperation remains accountable to the Ghanaian public.
They would also reduce the risk that promising initiatives become associated primarily with the administration that originally negotiated them.
## 7. A LESSON FROM GHANA’S OWN DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE
Ghana’s challenge is not simply to establish new international relationships. It is to develop the capacity to use them effectively.
For decades, the country has pursued various development programmes, industrial initiatives and economic reforms. Some have delivered useful results, while others have faced implementation difficulties or failed to achieve their original ambitions.
The reasons differ from programme to programme. Nevertheless, an important lesson emerges: development requires more than a declaration of intent.
It requires continuity, credible financing, capable institutions, effective coordination and sustained attention to implementation.
This lesson should guide Ghana’s approach to BRICS.
A partnership with an emerging economy cannot compensate for weaknesses in domestic policy execution. Nor can diplomatic diversification substitute for the difficult work of improving productivity, strengthening public institutions and creating an environment in which businesses can invest and expand.
International cooperation and domestic reform must reinforce each other.
If Ghana improves its investment environment, strengthens its institutions and develops a clear industrial strategy, it will be better positioned to benefit from cooperation with BRICS countries and other international partners alike.
If these domestic foundations remain weak, the benefits of new diplomatic relationships may be considerably smaller than anticipated.
## 8. FROM GEOPOLITICAL OPPORTUNITY TO A GHANAIAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
I believe Ghana should approach its proposed BRICS partnership as part of a broader effort to build a more productive, diversified and resilient economy.
That requires a development strategy which connects international cooperation with the everyday economic realities of Ghanaian households and businesses.
Investment should support productive activities.
Digitalisation should improve efficiency, expand access to markets and strengthen transparency.
Infrastructure should connect producers to markets and reduce the cost of doing business.
Education and technical training should respond to the needs of a transforming economy.
And development programmes should create opportunities across Ghana’s regions rather than concentrating their benefits in a limited number of locations.
These objectives should not be pursued through BRICS alone. They should guide Ghana’s relationships with all international partners.
The proposed partnership could become one component of a wider national effort to strengthen domestic production, expand employment and accelerate structural transformation.
However, this will require Ghana to approach the opportunity with clearly defined priorities and a realistic assessment of its own capabilities.
## 9. THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ASKING NOW
Before Ghana proceeds further with its application, I believe several questions deserve public discussion.
1. What specific economic and diplomatic objectives does Ghana want to achieve through BRICS partner-country status?
2. Which sectors should receive priority, and how will projects be selected according to their contribution to productivity, employment and industrial development?
3. How will Ghana ensure that the benefits of cooperation reach micro and small businesses, farmers, workers and communities across the country?
4. What arrangements will ensure continuity in Ghana’s BRICS engagement across changes of government?
5. How will the country balance its cooperation with BRICS against its existing relationships with international financial institutions, development partners and trading partners?
6. What mechanisms will ensure transparency in investment agreements, project financing and the use of public resources?
7. How will Ghana measure the results of its participation and communicate those results to the public?
These are not arguments against engagement with BRICS. They are questions intended to help Ghana prepare for it.
A country that understands its objectives, responsibilities and limitations is better positioned to benefit from international cooperation than one that relies primarily on the symbolic significance of joining a new grouping.
## CONCLUSION: THE REAL TEST IS WHAT GHANA DOES WITH THE OPPORTUNITY
I welcome Ghana’s decision to pursue BRICS partner-country status.
It reflects a legitimate interest in broadening our international relationships, exploring additional economic opportunities and strengthening cooperation with emerging and developing economies.
However, the initiative should be approached with clear objectives, institutional preparedness and a realistic understanding of what participation can and cannot deliver.
Ghana’s political history offers both reasons for confidence and lessons that should not be ignored. Our democratic institutions have demonstrated the capacity to manage changes of government peacefully. At the same time, the country must continue strengthening the consistency, transparency and implementation capacity required for long-term economic development.
The challenge is to ensure that a change in political leadership does not automatically translate into a change in national development priorities.
BRICS should not be presented as a substitute for Ghana’s existing international partnerships, nor should it be expected to solve domestic economic problems on its own.
Its value will depend on the quality of the opportunities Ghana negotiates, the projects it implements and the benefits that ultimately reach its people.
**The central question is not simply whether Ghana can join BRICS. It is whether Ghana can use the opportunity to strengthen its productive economy, create sustainable employment and build a development strategy that remains credible beyond individual political administrations.**
That is the standard against which this initiative should ultimately be judged.
For Ghana, the objective must be more than diplomatic diversification. It must be economic transformation.
*Hans Peter Reckling*
*Reckling Enterprise*
(THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIIGENCE – AI.)
