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BRICS member countries agreed to expand. Photos/Illustrations
JOHANNESBURG – Leaders of the leading bloc of developing countries that make up the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – have agreed on a mechanism to consider new members. This was disclosed by the foreign minister of South Africa.
The agreement on expansion paved the way for dozens of interested candidate countries to join the group, which has vowed to become the pioneers of building a “Global South”.
Enlarging the BRICS was high on the agenda at the summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital. Although all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for developing the bloc, there are differences of opinion among leaders as to how much and how quickly this support will be provided.
“We have agreed on the expansion issue,” South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, said on Radio Ubuntu, a radio station run by South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We have a document that we adopted that sets out guidelines and principles, a process for considering countries that wish to become BRICS members…That is very positive,” he added as quoted by Reuters, Wednesday (23/8/2023).
Pandor said the bloc’s leaders would make a more detailed announcement on the expansion before the summit ends on Thursday.
More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS, South African officials say, and 22 countries – including Iran, Venezuela and Algeria – have formally requested membership.
(ian)
