Cape Town - The growing charm of strength between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) coupled with the loss of attraction in the West has led to more countries, including Iran and Argentina, applying for BRICS membership.
According to the Global Times, BRICS has become one of the latest trending buzzwords in the global public opinion amid a looming recession and crippling inflation in the West, as well as high energy costs and food shortages across European nations.
Last month, Iran applied to join the group of major emerging economies, followed by Argentina, which said it had received China’s formal support to join BRICS.
Argentina's foreign minister Santiago Cafiero said in a statement that he had met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a G20 event in Indonesia, where that support was formalised. Argentina is a major exporter of soy, wheat and corn.
“Wang Yi formally confirmed his country's support for Argentina's membership of the BRICS group, in line with what was agreed between the group's leaders,” Argentina's foreign ministry said.
Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are some of the other nations who also plan to apply for official membership.
The Middle East Monitor reported that BRICS International Forum President Purnima Anand said she expects Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to join the group “very soon”, while the accession of these countries will not take place at the same time.
“All these countries have shown an interest in joining and are preparing to apply for membership. I think this is a good step because expansion is always perceived positively; this will clearly increase the influence of BRICS in the world,” said Anand.
“I hope that the accession of countries to BRICS will happen very quickly because now all representatives of the core of the association are interested in expanding the organisation, so it will be very soon,” she said in an interview with Russia's Izvestia.
Furthermore, according to the World Bank, Russia continues to hold the world’s largest natural gas reserves and the second largest coal reserves, while Brazil is known for its diverse agricultural products and mineral wealth.
Furthermore, the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) is an example that shows how the five countries are all on an equal footing with equal rights to speak, vote and make decisions.
The NDB is a multilateral development bank where the initial subscribed capital is equally distributed among the founding members. The bank supports projects through loans, equity participation and other financial instruments.
Meanwhile, any submissions of new members to BRICS cannot be submitted until the relevant principles and rules have been carried out, with regulations and legal procedures for the BRICS enlargement still underway.
IOL