The Republic of South Africa should use its presidency of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) this year to secure the admission of new countries to the organization. The draft resolution for the congress of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, which concludes its work Friday, said.
"The ANC and the government it leads should support the expansion of BRICS by admitting new members based on agreed criteria, principles and values," local news portal News24 quoted the document, noting that it refers to the task of expanding BRICS during the South African presidency, which must achieve a consensus among the current BRICS members to do so. As the portal notes, the expansion of BRICS is consistent with the desire of the ruling party in South Africa to strengthen alliances to counter the dominance of Western economies in the world, particularly the United States.
South Africa assumed the presidency of the BRICS group on January 1. It will last throughout this year. A diplomatic source in Pretoria told TASS that talks on a possible expansion of BRICS will take place in the coming months. Algeria, Argentina and Iran have already applied to join BRICS, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have announced their interest in joining the group.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reported on September 26 that the BRICS countries have begun work on a possible expansion of the association. However, he previously indicated that no quick decisions on this issue should be expected. Ryabkov explained that the BRICS participants have to reach an "understanding of the basic parameters of expansion," and this process is "not simple and delicate". Therefore, there will be extensive consultations within the association.
In 2006, Brazil, Russia, India and China formed the BRIC group. The Republic of South Africa joined it in 2011, turning it into BRICS. South Africa holds the BRICS presidency for the third time.
The ANC congress, which convenes once every five years, began its work on December 16. Its first part ended four days later with the re-election of incumbent South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as party leader. The second part of the congress opened on January 5 and is scheduled to conclude this Friday with the adoption of a final resolution.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: FAS
Based on materials from TASS