The BRICS countries have decided to expand. South African President Ramaphosa, host of the BRICS summit, announced that they had decided to accept six new countries by January 1, 2024 – including Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The BRICS Alliance wants to grow. The group of developing countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have decided to invite Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina as “full members”, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the Johannesburg summit.

He announced that the six countries should join the international community by 1 January 2024. This will be the second expansion of the group formed in 2009. South Africa only joined the following year. With the addition of new members, the group has grown into “BRICS plus”.

Putin praised Ramaphosas negotiation skills

Russian President Vladimir Putin described agreement on the final declaration and expansion of the alliance as “not easy”. But Ramaphosa, as the host, showed the “remarkable art of diplomacy” to reconcile all positions, which is why it worked in the end, praised Putin, who linked via video from Moscow.

Putin did not come to the summit in person because, according to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, he would be arrested in South Africa for war crimes in Ukraine.

This expansion will give new impetus to the group’s cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Johannesburg. The BRICS countries have an important global influence and great responsibility. The President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, immediately welcomed his country’s offer.

Offsetting Western domination

A day earlier, Ramaphosa said that “fundamental reforms” of global governance were necessary given the changing world. “The new reality requires fundamental reforms to global governance institutions so that they become more representative and better able to respond to the challenges facing humanity,” he said. South Africa currently holds the post of president of the Confederation of Nations.

The aim of this alliance is to balance the geopolitical and economic dominance of the West. The BRICS countries also want to reduce their dependence on the US dollar as a global reserve currency. According to their own statements, the five states cover 42 percent of the world’s population, 30 percent of the global land area, and 24 percent of global economic output.

The BRICS countries sometimes find it difficult to implement coherent policies because they set different priorities in politics and business. In addition, China and India are rivals in important areas. China is the most powerful economy in the bloc and seeks to further enhance its global power compared to the United States.

Great interest in membership

Expanding the group was the focus of the three-day summit that ends today. Many other members to be accepted. According to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, some 40 countries have expressed a more or less binding interest in BRICS membership, more than 20 of them in real terms.

This circle includes Algeria, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand and Venezuela. The accession criteria for this have not been publicly announced. Although China and Russia have been pushing for new members, other members have recently agreed.