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BRICS summit being held in Johannesburg Aug. 22-24
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Increasing bloc to high agenda
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Dozens of nations enthusiastic about becoming a member of
By Bhargav Acharya
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Leaders of the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are as a consequence of open a summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday the place they may weigh increasing membership as some members push to forge the bloc right into a counterweight to the West.
Heightened international tensions provoked by the Ukraine warfare and a rising rivalry between China and the US have added urgency to a drive to strengthen the bloc, which has at occasions suffered from inner divisions and a scarcity of coherent imaginative and prescient.
“An expanded BRICS will characterize a various group of countries with completely different political techniques that share a standard need to have a extra balanced international order,” South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, mentioned in an deal with forward of the conferences.
Boosting the usage of member states’ native currencies can be on the agenda. South African summit organisers, nonetheless, say there might be no discussions of a BRICS foreign money, an thought floated by Brazil earlier this 12 months as a substitute for dollar-dependence.
Ramaphosa will host Chinese language President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Aug. 22 to 24.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, wished beneath a world arrest warrant for alleged warfare crimes in Ukraine, won’t journey to South Africa and as a substitute be part of nearly.
Growth has lengthy been a purpose of bloc heavyweight China, which hopes that broader membership will lend clout to a grouping already residence to some 40% of the world’s inhabitants and 1 / 4 of worldwide GDP.
The leaders will maintain a mini-retreat and dinner on Tuesday night the place they’re more likely to talk about a framework and standards for admitting new nations.
However enlargement has turn into some extent of competition.
Russia is eager to usher in new members to counter its diplomatic isolation over its invasion of Ukraine. South Africa has additionally voiced help.
India, which is cautious of Chinese language dominance and has warned towards speeding enlargement, has “constructive intent and an open thoughts”, International Secretary Vinay Kwatra mentioned on Monday. Brazil, in the meantime, is anxious that rising BRICS will dilute its affect.
Whereas a possible BRICS enlargement stays up within the air, the bloc’s pledge to turn into a champion of the growing “International South” and supply a substitute for a world order dominated by rich Western nations is already discovering resonance.
Over 40 nations have expressed curiosity in becoming a member of BRICS, say South African officers. Of them, almost two dozen have formally requested to be admitted.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Joe Bavier; Enhancing by Andy Sullivan)
