Summary:
- BRICS nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have agreed to a mechanism for new member expansion.
- More than 40 countries have shown interest in joining BRICS, with 22 formally requesting admission.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an accelerated expansion process.
- BRICS members have varying economies and foreign policy goals.
- Further details about the expansion framework will be provided after the conclusion of the summit.
Leaders of BRICS have made an agreement for expansion. On Wednesday, South Africa said the group of developing countries had agreed to a mechanism for new members, paving the way for dozens of nations to sign up. That could help lend clout to the group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as it seeks to create a viable counterweight to the West. More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials. 22 have formally asked to be admitted. They represent a disparate pool of potential candidates from Iran to Argentina, enlarging the group was top of the agenda at a summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa. Earlier in the day, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an accelerated process.
We need to use the BRICS plus cooperation well and accelerate the expansion process. Let more countries join the BRICS family, pool wisdom and gather strength to make global governance more fair and reasonable. While all BRICS members had publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, there had been divisions among the leaders about how much and how quickly. The group's members have economies that are vastly different in scale and governments that seem to have few foreign policy goals in common. More details on the framework would be given before the summit concludes on Thursday, South Africa said.