Leaders of the BRICS group of developing countries decided at a summit in Johannesburg this week to invite six countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, to become new members of the bloc by January 1, 2024. Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates will also receive invitation, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting the summit, announced on Thursday. This was reported by Reuters, according to which this move was intended to strengthen the influence of the group that promised to defend the interests of the “Global South”.

“BRICS has entered a new chapter in its efforts to build a just world, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous,” Ramaphosa said in a press conference.

“We have agreed to the first phase of the expansion process and other phases will follow,” he said, adding that although the BRICS countries agreed to the expansion after two days of negotiations at the ongoing summit, they were already working on the idea of ​​doing so. more than a year.

The first wave of expansion of the bloc, founded in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and the Republic of South Africa joined a year later, could thus pave the way for dozens of other participating countries to join the bloc. has expressed interest in becoming a member. This comes at a time when geopolitical polarization is fueling efforts by Beijing and Moscow to turn the group into a counterweight to the West.

“We will remain open to new candidates,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confirmed at a news conference. In his opinion, the promises of globalization have not been fulfilled and it is time to revive cooperation among developing countries, given the “existing risk of nuclear war”.

United Arab Emirates ruler Muhammad bin Zayed, whose country is already a member of the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS nations, praised the acceptance of “this important group” among member states.

“We look forward to a long-term commitment to cooperation that leads to prosperity, dignity and benefits for all nations and peoples around the world,” said bin Zayed on social network X, formerly Twitter.

The debate over territorial expansion is the main topic of a three-day summit in the South African capital, which enters its final day today. Although all BRICS countries have publicly expressed support for the expansion, there are differences of opinion among the respective leaders on how quickly and by how many members the bloc should expand, Reuters wrote.

According to the authorities in South Africa, about 40 countries are interested in becoming BRICS members, and 22 of them have applied for official registration. They represent a diverse group of candidates, often motivated by a desire to equalize global conditions and rebalance the world order, which they say benefits the advanced nations of the West. Therefore, the BRICS group is often seen as an alternative to the G7 group of developed countries.

Although the BRICS countries are currently home to around 40 percent of the world’s population and their total GDP accounts for a quarter of the world’s economy, they account for only 18 percent of world trade and, in the absence of a clear vision, they are still experiencing decline. . less than their potential weight as players in global politics and economics, the agency told Reuters.

“This new member expansion represents a historic moment,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping. He added, this demonstrates the commitment of the BRICS countries to unity and cooperation with other developing countries and fulfills the expectations of the international community.

All BRICS member countries, according to the Chinese leader, are “countries of great influence who bear a great responsibility for world peace and development on their shoulders.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the bloc’s expansion should set an example for other global institutions that were founded in the 20th century and gradually become obsolete.

“The BRICS expansion and modernization is a message that all institutions in the world must transform with the changing times,” said Modi.