BRICS set to expand

A planned announcement on the expansion of BRICS at a forthcoming summit in South Africa will mark a significant change in the global order, the nation’s ambassador to the five-nation bloc said.

Heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will make a pronouncement on the enlargement of the group when they meet later this month, Anil Sooklal said at a briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

22 nations have asked formally to become full-time members of the group, and more than 20 others have submitted informal requests.

BRICS has become “a powerful global force that is bringing change to the world”, he said. “This change is not coming voluntarily. BRICS has been a catalyst for a tectonic change you will see in the global geopolitical architecture starting with the summit.”

So far, representatives from 71 nations have been invited to attend the summit, Sooklal said. The meeting will take place in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August.

“This will be the largest gathering in recent times of countries from the Global South coming together to discuss the current global challenges,” he said.