BRICS Leaders to Talk Expansion at August Summit, Host Confirms

The leaders of the BRICS states volition sermon the organization’s enlargement erstwhile they conscionable successful South Africa, the country’s president indicated. The acme is acceptable instrumentality spot successful August erstwhile implicit a twelve countries volition anticipation to beryllium fixed a way to membership.

Nearly 20 Nations Aspire for BRICS Membership, SA President Ramaphosa Says

Leaders of the 5 BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) volition speech astir the group’s enlargement astatine their acme scheduled for August, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed. Ramaphosa told the SABC radio:

As we talk now, adjacent to 20 oregon truthful of others privation to articulation BRICS and they privation america to admit them into the BRICS family. So, astatine this summit, we are besides going to beryllium discussing the imaginable of whether BRICS grows beyond the 5 countries oregon not.

Media reports and authoritative statements successful the past fewer months person unveiled that a fig of countries are seeking to go BRICS members. In April, South Africa’s Ambassador to the group, Anil Sooklal, said that 13 nations person formally applied to articulation the bloc of starring processing economies portion different six person informally inquired astir membership.

BRICS is apt to judge 5 caller members astatine its summit, India’s Business Standard regular revealed astatine the extremity of June, the Russian Tass quality bureau reminded successful a report. Quoting a elder authorities authoritative who chose to stay anonymous, the paper wrote that the radical that whitethorn beryllium inducted consists of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Egypt, and Argentina.

Cyril Ramaphosa volition big and seat the BRICS summit, which volition beryllium held connected Aug. 22 – 24 successful Johannesburg, his nation’s astir populous city. President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s attendance remains uncertain successful the look of an indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) implicit the warfare successful Ukraine and fallout from the Wagner mutiny, the Moscow Times wrote past week.

According to the publication, Russia has turned down a South African petition to nonstop Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, alternatively of Putin, to the summit. “We recognize we are bound by the Rome Statute but we can’t invitation idiosyncratic and past you apprehension them. You tin recognize our dilemma,” Ramaphosa’s deputy, Paul Mashatile, told section media. However, Ramaphosa has already invited the leaders of the 4 different subordinate states and vowed to clasp an in-person gathering contempt the ICC warrant.

Do you deliberation BRICS nations volition hold to invitation caller members astatine their August summit? Share your expectations successful the comments conception below.