RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt are planning to join BRICS, Izvestia reports. The president of the BRICS international forum, Purnima Anand, told the newspaper.
The discussion on this step could take place in South Africa as early as 2023.
China, Russia, and India discussed the admission of new countries to BRICS in a virtual format during the 14th summit of BRICS leaders in Beijing. It was held June 23-24.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt are reportedly preparing to apply for membership.
“I think this is a good move as expansion is always seen positively and the influence of BRICS will increase significantly globally,” Anand concluded.
The process of accepting new members should not take long, Anand said, as the countries are already in the process of joining the group.
However, the states will enter the BRICS gradually, one by one. Discussions on Iran, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey can be expected at the next summit in South Africa in 2023.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the leadership of the BRICS countries was in demand to build the multipolar world. One may also count on the assistance of African, Asian, and Latin American countries that pursue an independent policy, he added.
BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on world affairs.
The BRICS bloc represents more than 40% of the world population and about 26% of the global economy.
In the multipolar world that awaits us, BRICS with China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa are increasingly becoming the power center of the Global South as a complementary pole to the U.S.-led ‘Golden Billion’, the rich countries of the West, which however still cling convulsively to the old unipolar world order with the U.S. as the world empire.
Argentina and Iran have already applied to the bloc to become part of BRICS, and it will be interesting to see which country wants to join next.
Since 2009, the governments of the BRICS states have met annually at formal summits.