SA again to play a role in BRICS expansion

South Africa will play a key role in the further expansion of the BRICS bloc this year, with a further 34 countries submitting an expression of interest in joining the bloc of major emerging economies.

Professor Anil Sooklal, Ambassador at Large for Asia and BRICS and the South African Sherpa, said Russia was accepting the applications after assuming rotating chairmanship of the group this year.

“At the Johannesburg Summit last year, a declaration was issued for foreign ministers to look at the issue of partner country membership as per the leaders’ directives.”

Russia will be the first member to oversee the body since it significantly expanded its global footprint at the start of the year, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia became the first batch of countries to join the expanded alliance, with Argentina withdrawing its application.

Russia earlier this year took over the chairpersonship of the bloc from South Africa.

“The expressions of interest have come from other African countries and from the developing world,” Sooklal said.

With so many applications there is no finality on how many new countries will join what is now a bloc of 10 countries.

“Nothing has been determined and we are still finalising the criteria,” said Sooklal.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said with five countries joining BRICS, this meant that the bloc that represents the Global South will now represent more than 40% of the world’s population and an even greater share of its economic output.

Last year’s summit agreed to task the BRICS finance ministers or Central Bank governors, to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and report back to the BRICS leaders by the next summit.

The Johannesburg II Declaration that came out of the summit highlighted the progressive thinking of the bloc as it reaffirmed the countries commitment to the bloc’s spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, strengthened collaboration and consensus.

The group emphasised the support for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the council’s memberships.

The call was made for the UN to adequately respond to prevailing global challenges and support the three legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Brazil, India and South Africa, to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the UN, including its Security Council.

The Mercury