The expansion of BRICS – from five to 11 countries, including Ethiopia and Egypt – will allow Africa to have a greater influence on the group’s decisions regarding trade and geopolitics.
There was a positive response to the announcement yesterday by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the two African countries, along with Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), would be part of the bloc that represents the Global South.
BRICS will now represent 46% of the world’s population and an even greater share of its economic output.
Announcing the outcomes of the 15th BRICS Summit that ended in Johannesburg yesterday, Ramaphosa said BRICS was made up of a diverse group of nations.
“It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but have a shared vision for a better world.”
Ramaphosa said the BRICS countries had reached consensus on the first phase of this expansion process. He said leaders had adopted the Johannesburg II Declaration, which reflected key BRICS messages on matters of global economic, financial and political importance.
The summit agreed to task the BRICS finance ministers or Central Bank governors to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and report back to the BRICS leaders by the next summit.
Twenty countries had applied to be part of the expanded grouping, which has been referred to as “BRICS Plus” by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS. The membership will take effect from 1 January 2024,” Ramaphosa said.
He said foreign ministers had been tasked to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next Summit, to be held in Russia.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said: “We appreciate the confidence of all BRICS member states with whom we share robust relations. We look forward to co-operating and co-ordinating with them, and with the other countries invited to join the bloc, to achieve its goals toward strengthening economic co-operation among us and raise the voice of the Global South with regard to the various issues and development challenges we encounter in order to promote the developing countries’ rights and interests.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on X, formerly known as Twitter, described the announcement as a great moment for his country. “Ethiopia stands ready to co-operate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order.”
Unisa Professor Emeritus of International Law Andre Thomashausen described the expansion as a fundamental shift in the international order.
“BRICS was formed in 2004 for developing countries to have a greater say in development and modernisation. That is why a country like Ethiopia has been invited, it has a global airline, an enterprising rail project and it really is on the move.” He said the three African countries would have a greater influence on BRICS and help prioritise the needs of the rest of the continent.
Thomashausen said the BRICS culture was crucial as it enabled countries to consult, plan and make decisions despite their differences.
He said two crucial items in the declaration included a review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quotas system before December 15, and the strengthening of disarmament and non-proliferation.
“The US has always had the majority say in IMF quotas or decisions and they have given the fund until December 15 to revise this. The BRICS nations have given a clear affirmation that they want disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons to be resumed – this conflicts with Nato countries but BRICS is adamant that this is not in the interests of development.”