BRICS expansion: China suggests ‘BRICS Plus’ amid member agreement

Brics

Cape Town – Member countries of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) bloc are expressing support for its expansion to include new members.

More than 20 countries, primarily developing economies, have shown interest in joining, including Argentina, Algeria, Bolivia, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and others.

The leaders of Brics are considering criteria for admitting new members, Times Live reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are strong proponents of expansion, suggesting the name “BRICS Plus” for the enlarged group, the report said.

“I am glad there is growing enthusiasm in developing countries about participating in Brics co-operation and quite a number of them have applied to join this co-operation mechanism.

“We need to make good use of the Brics Plus co-operation format and accelerate the expansion process to bring more countries into the family, to pool our strengths and wisdom to make global governance more just and equitable,” the report quoted Jinping as saying.

India, previously skeptical about expansion, has also announced support for the proposal.

“India fully supports the expansion of BRICS membership and we welcome moving forward on this,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. 

The expansion is seen as a way to strengthen the bloc’s influence and promote global governance.

The announcement of new members is yet to be determined.

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Source: AFP

Picture: Twitter/@PresidencyZA

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