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The BRICS group of nations has decided to invite six countries – Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – to become new members of the bloc. The debate over expanding the BRICS bloc, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has topped the agenda at a three-day summit in Johannesburg ending on Thursday.
The BRICS group of nations has decided to invite six countries – Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – to become new members of the bloc. The debate over expanding the BRICS bloc, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has topped the agenda at a three-day summit in Johannesburg ending on Thursday.
While all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, there were divisions among the leaders over how much and how quickly. The creation of a currency for trade and investment transactions between BRICS members, it seems, has been left to finance ministers of the bloc, who are expected to meet shortly to thrash out the issue. However, a segment of the participants believes that increases in the payment options can reduce our vulnerabilities. However, a final decision would be taken later, although analysts feel that it could be a far-fetched idea.
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In the meantime, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the new members, who were invited to join the bloc and hoped that would make the BRICS a formidable group. It is still not clear what could be the new name of the organization since BRICS is coined taking the first letters of contracting parties. Prime Minister Modi, particularly complimented South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for the meticulous organization of the event and hailed the takeaways. It is also reported that Prime Minister Modi had a brief meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the details of which have not been shared by either Indian or Chinese diplomatic sources.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping at the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit said, “We should expand political and security cooperation to uphold peace & tranquillity. The Cold War mentality is still haunting our world and the geo-political situation is getting tense. BRICS countries should keep to the direction of peaceful development and consolidate the BRICS strategic partnership.
He further added:” We need to make good use of the BRICS Foreign ministers’ meeting, a meeting of high representatives on national security & other mechanism; support each other on our core interests and enhance coordination on major international and regional issues. We need to tender good offices on hotspot issues pushing for a political settlement and lowering the temperature…”
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin sidestepped the question when asked about Xi Jinping’s not attending BRICS Business Forum, telling reporters in Beijing that Xi’s speech had been delivered.
On the sidelines of the event, the BRICS bank signed a loan agreement for the Lesotho water project. The Project will be co-financed by NDB, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other financiers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the BRICS summit in South Africa that Moscow intended to deepen ties with African countries and that it would remain a reliable partner for food and fuel supplies.
In a video link address, Putin said Russia was interested in developing “multi-faceted ties” with Africa, which has been roiled by fuel and food price rises resulting from the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s July exit from the Black Sea grain deal has seen grain prices soar, hitting many African countries very hard. Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s biggest grain exporters.
In his remarks, Putin also said Russia had more than 30 energy projects in African countries, adding that Russian fuel supplies would help African governments to contain price rises. Putin added that the global transition to a greener, low-carbon emissions economy would have to be “gradual, balanced, carefully calibrated”, given projections for further growth in the world’s population and energy demand.
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Ethiopia’s admission to the BRICS, Africa’s second most populous country was welcomed by its Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who said that it was an important moment for Ethiopia. Traditionally non-aligned, Ethiopia maintains close ties with Russia and China – its main trading partner – but also with the United States, even if relations with Washington became strained during the two-year conflict in the Tigray region (northern Ethiopia), which ended in November 2022.
