By Ntombi Mhlongo
About 19 countries have reportedly expressed an interest in joining the BRICS Group of Nations as it prepares to hold an annual summit in South Africa.
It has been reported that the emerging-markets bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet in Cape Town on 2-3 June to discuss its enlargement, Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to the group, said on Monday.
“What will be discussed is the expansion of BRICS and the modalities of how this will happen,” he said. “Thirteen countries have formally asked to join and another six have asked informally. We are getting applications to join every day,” was quoted as having said.
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News platform Bloomberg reported that China initiated the conversation about expansion when it was BRICS chair last year, as the world’s second-biggest economy tries to build diplomatic clout to counter the dominance of developed countries in the United Nations.
The proposed enlargement triggered concern among other members that their influence will be diluted, especially if Beijing’s close allies are admitted.
China’s gross domestic product is more than twice the size of all four other BRICS members combined. The foreign ministers from the five member states are said to have all confirmed they’ll attend the discussions in June.
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In addition to its membership, they will also discuss “hot spots” including Sudan, where a conflict between the army and a paramilitary force continued for a 10th day on Monday.
Since its formation in 2006, the group has only admitted one new member – South Africa in 2010. Saudi Arabia and Iran are among the countries that have who’ve formally asked to join.
Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has accepted the invitation to attend an in-person BRICS Summit in South Africa later this year in August. Interestingly, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant against President Putin which raised concern over his participation.
On top of that, South Africa is one of 123 signatories to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, further throwing the BRICS Summit host of the year into a geopolitical dilemma.
