“ At the BRICS summit in Kazan (Russia), there will be new members. In total, about 25 countries have said they are ready to join the bloc ,” said Maqetuka.
South Africa’s ambassador to Russia said new members are expected to join the bloc at the summit in Kazan, but he stressed it was important to clarify how a country could join BRICS.
“ There are two processes to become a BRICS member. First, a country can express its intention to join the bloc. Second, a country can directly apply for membership. Currently, 25 countries are waiting to join the bloc and by the 15th summit, six of these 25 countries will be nominated. Right now, I think only 12 countries are considered among them. So there are still about 11 countries waiting ,” Maqetuka stressed.
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| Photo: RIA Novosti |
Ambassador Maqetuka added that by the Kazan Summit in October, the list of candidates will be clearer and BRICS will expand. He said there will be announcements of new members, especially from countries that have applied to join the bloc. These include Algeria, Belarus, Pakistan and many others.
“ BRICS will expand in Kazan, but there is no way for all the remaining 11 countries to be accepted as members of the bloc, the process must be gradual ,” Maqetuka noted.
In a related development, Saudi Arabia has yet to decide whether to join BRICS or not. According to Ambassador Maqetuka, because Riyadh is still going through certain processes to join the group.
“Saudi Arabia is still going through its own processes. One, as a country. Two, together with its BRICS partners. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed it yet. We will see that when we get to the Summit this year in Kazan,” Ambassador Maqetuka explained.
Previously, at the 15th BRICS Summit in August last year in South Africa, six new countries were invited to join the group. However, Argentina was the first country to reject BRICS membership because newly elected President Javier Milei was skeptical about the bloc. Only the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia have become members of the bloc since January 2024.
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