South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday that the five BRICS countries are open to adding new members as they seek greater influence in molding the world order.
Calls to expand the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — dominated the agenda at the three-day Johannesburg meeting, exposing schisms among its members.
China is attempting to rapidly expand the BRICS in the face of increased rivalry from the United States, but the bloc’s other major state, India, is cautious of its geopolitical rival’s intentions.
According to officials, about two dozen countries have formally requested to join the BRICS, which represent for 40% of the world’s population and a quarter of the global economy.
BRICS leaders have been joined in Johannesburg by 50 heads of state and government.
The BRICS are a diverse group of countries with large and small economies, democratic and autocratic governments, but they all share a desire to challenge the Western-led global order, which they claim does not serve their interests or growing clout.
Officials said the BRICS presidents were considering criteria for admitting new members and that the group runs on consensus.
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa told the summit that support for expansion “has been articulated by all BRICS members”.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he supported opening the door to new members and “welcomes moving forward with consensus”.
“We stand at the cusp of expanding the BRICS family,” said Ramaphosa, who added that he hoped for a “clear solution to this matter” by the summit’s close on Thursday.
‘Turbulence and transformation’
Chinese President Xi Jinping, on just his second trip abroad this year, said expanding the bloc would “pool our strength (and) pool our wisdom to make global governance more just and equitable.”
“We gather at a time when the world is undergoing major shifts, divisions, and regrouping. It has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation,” said Xi, whose nation represents about 70 percent of the BRICS total GDP.
US officials have downplayed the possibility of BRICS growing as a geopolitical opponent, describing the bloc as a “very diverse collection of countries” that includes both friends and rivals.
The meeting highlighted contrasts with the West over the Ukraine conflict, as well as Russia’s support from its other BRICS allies during a period of global isolation.
South Africa, China, and India have all declined to criticize Russia’s invasion, while Brazil has refused to join the West in delivering armaments to Ukraine or placing sanctions on Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant for suspected war crimes in Ukraine, was the only BRICS leader who did not attend in person and instead spoke by video link about sanctions.
Russia was “desperate for friends and partners so it’s not surprising that they are so keen to have an expansion,” said Gustavo de Carvalho, senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.
BRICS divide
Analysts believe that when considering new members, Brazil, South Africa, and India must weigh the benefits of strong relations with China and Russia against the danger of alienating the United States, a significant economic partner.
The countries applying, like the BRICS, vary significantly, from G20 giants like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to isolated regimes like Iran that are openly hostile to the US and its allies.
The level of interest, according to BRICS officials, is indication that its message resonated powerfully with the “Global South” – a broad term referring to nations other than the West.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has championed the BRICS development bank as an alternative to Washington-based lending institutions, has stated that he supports the Argentina’s participation.
But the South American powerhouse feared “diluting” the influence of BRICS should it expand too quickly, said Carvalho.
“There is definitely a divide on BRICS members at the moment,” he said.