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| Leaders of the BRICS member countries (from left): Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Source: brics2023.gov.za) |
A spokesperson for the US State Department said: "Washington reiterates that countries can choose the partners and groups they will align with. We will continue to work with partners and allies in bilateral, regional and multilateral forums to enhance shared prosperity and maintain global peace and security."
* On the same day, Argentine President Alberto Fernández affirmed that the admission of more members to BRICS will help create new momentum for the voice of the Southern Hemisphere in the current unstable international context.
President Fernández expressed his honor after Argentina was invited to join the bloc.
The South American country's leader said that the addition of new members to BRICS represents the rise of multipolarity in an unstable and unequal world, in which unilateral agreements will limit the development potential of countries.
In that context, the five-member bloc plays a particularly important role in promoting multilateral negotiations and coordination, towards a sustainable development structure that benefits countries around the world, especially those in the Southern Hemisphere.
* In a related development, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian emphasized that BRICS plays an independent and effective role, and has a spirit of goodwill globally. These are favorable factors that encourage Iran to pursue multilateralism.
According to Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, the BRICS countries - home to more than 3 billion people, equivalent to 40% of the world's population and covering a total area of one-third of the Earth's surface - have important cooperative relations with Iran.
The head of Iran's Foreign Ministry also listed Tehran's capabilities that could benefit BRICS members, including its geopolitical and geostrategic location, abundant energy resources, skilled, professional and efficient workforce, remarkable progress in various sectors and political stability.
* On the Indian side, after the closing of the BRICS Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that on the occasion of its 15th anniversary, the bloc has decided to admit more members and the country fully supports this move.
"The addition of new members will make BRICS stronger and more effective," Mr. Modi affirmed.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that all BRICS countries have agreed that the group's name will not change after new countries join, as this will show continuity.
“Everyone stressed that the name should not be changed, it has become a brand. None of the new BRICS countries have proposed otherwise,” he said.
At the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg (held from August 22-24), South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the bloc has decided to invite six countries including Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join. These countries will officially become members of the bloc from January 1, 2024.
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