2023-08-24 10:04:13
Cyril Ramaphosa
So far, the group of the most important emerging countries includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
(Photo: dpa)
Johannesburg The BRICS group of important emerging countries, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is being expanded by six new members.
Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina should join the international community in early 2024, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced at a BRICS summit in his home country on Thursday.
It is the second expansion for the group, formed in 2009. South Africa only joined the following year.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and host Ramaphosa were present at the summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin was connected via video.
Numerous other members are to be admitted. According to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, around 40 countries have expressed a more or less binding interest in Brics membership, 23 of them concretely. This circle includes Algeria, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Venezuela and Thailand.
BRICS Summit in Johannesburg
From left to right: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China’s President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
(Photo: IMAGO/UPI Photo)
The accession criteria for this have not yet been publicly announced. While China and Russia have pushed for new members, other members have only recently agreed.
40 percent of the world’s population already lives in the five BRICS countries, and they are responsible for more than 30 percent of global economic output.
>> Read “Global Trends” here: How the BRICS countries are gaining global economic influence
The BRICS countries sometimes find it difficult to pursue a coherent policy because they set different priorities in politics and business and China and India are also rivals in important fields.
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