(Bloomberg) -- The BRICS group of nations plans to decide this year whether to admit new members and what criteria they would have to meet, with Iran and Saudi Arabia among those who’ve formally asked to join, according to South Africa’s ambassador to the bloc.
Enlarging the group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa would benefit Beijing, as the world’s second-biggest economy tries to build diplomatic clout to counter the dominance of developed nations in the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other institutions.
China initiated the conversation about expansion when it was chair last year, triggering concern among other members that their influence will be diluted, especially if Beijing’s close allies are admitted. China’s gross domestic product is more than twice the size of all four other BRICS members combined.
The proposal to expand BRICS will be one of the economic bloc’s main focuses this year, said Ambassador Anil Sooklal. South Africa is the group’s current chair.
“There are over a dozen countries that have knocked on the door,” Sooklal said in an interview in Johannesburg last week. “We are quite advanced at looking at a further group of new members.”
Vote Imbalance
The potential repositioning of BRICS comes as developed nations in Europe and North America seek to bolster alliances to push back against the influence of an increasingly dominant and assertive China by forming new blocs and signing trade and security pacts. The so-called Quad, an alliance between the US, Japan, India and Australia, has gained in prominence since being resurrected in 2017 after standing dormant for almost a decade. And in 2021, Australia, the UK and the US entered into a security alliance known as AUKUS.
We are living in “the world between orders. We don’t know what the new order is going to be,” Sooklal said. “We believe we need to play a role in ensuring that we have a more equitable, inclusive, transparent, global architecture.” READ MORE...
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