BRICS Summit

One key outcome of the 15th Brics summit, hosted by South Africa, is the decision to invite six more countries to join the group with effect from January 2024. They are Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. All six had applied for membership. The enlargement will grow the association’s membership to 11, and increase its envisaged role as a geopolitical alternative to global institutions dominated by the west. The five current member countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – ...

We knew that the expansion of the BRICS grouping was top of the agenda at this 15th BRICS summit in South Africa. We had thought that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bangladesh would be invited to join given they were already part of the BRICS’s New Development Bank. In the end, it was not only the UAE and Egypt invited to join, but also Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina and Ethiopia. The biggest surprise is Saudi Arabia. It had been rumoured that the country wanted to enter the group, but the geo-political situation – given ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an expansion of the BRICS grouping of emerging economies to build a more just and equitable international order, insisting “hegemonism is not in China’s DNA”. In a speech delivered on his behalf at the start of BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday, Xi said China had no wish to engage in great power competition or create “bloc confrontation”. “China stands firmly on the right side of history and believes a just cause should be pursued for the common good,” Xi said at a ...

We knew that the expansion of the BRICS grouping was top of the agenda at this 15th BRICS summit in South Africa. We had thought that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bangladesh would be invited to join given they were already part of the BRICS’s New Development Bank. In the end, it was not only the UAE and Egypt invited to join, but also Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina and Ethiopia. The biggest surprise is Saudi Arabia. It had been rumoured that the country wanted to enter the group, but the geo-political situation – given ...

BRICS leaders have agreed to expand the club of major emerging economies and adopted conditions for entry, South Africa said on Wednesday (Aug 23), as the bloc pursues greater clout to shape the world order. Calls to enlarge the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - has dominated the agenda at its three-day summit in Johannesburg and exposed rifts between members. China is seeking to rapidly grow the BRICS amid rising competition with the United States but the group's other major power, India, is wary of the ...

BRICS leaders meeting in South Africa this week will consider expanding the five-nation bloc at a time of great interest in the group that accounts for a quarter of global wealth. Opinions differ between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa over accepting new members into the loosely-defined club of major emerging economies that is seeking an alternative to the Western-led international order. Here are some key issues as the BRICS convene in Johannesburg: South African officials say more than 40 countries have shown some ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an expansion of the BRICS grouping of emerging economies to build a more just and equitable international order, insisting “hegemonism is not in China’s DNA”. In a speech delivered on his behalf at the start of BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday, Xi said China had no wish to engage in great power competition or create “bloc confrontation”. “China stands firmly on the right side of history and believes a just cause should be pursued for the common good,” Xi said at a ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a leaders’ dinner hosted by his South African counterpart on Tuesday after skipping an earlier scheduled appearance at a business forum. Xi arrived at the dinner along with the leaders of Brazil and India, and Russia’s foreign minister, who are all in Johannesburg for the annual BRICS summit of emerging market powers. Xi had earlier skipped a forum where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, sending Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao instead. The Chinese premier met South African President ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in South Africa for the 15th BRICS summit, running from August 22-24, where he was greeted in Johannesburg by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting the summit in the executive capital of Pretoria. It is merely the Chinese leader's second trip abroad this year, after in March he met his "dear friend" President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Putin will be absent for the BRICS meeting after South Africa signaled it was being pressured to enforce the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ...

Leaders of the BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - converged on Johannesburg on Tuesday (Aug 22) for a summit where they will weigh expanding the bloc as some members push to forge it into a counterweight to the West. Heightened global tensions provoked by the Ukraine war and a growing rivalry between China and the United States have added urgency to a drive to strengthen the bloc, which has at times suffered from internal divisions and a lack of coherent vision. South Africa hosted China's Xi Jinping, the ...