Johannesburg – News agency Bloomberg says that the BRICS group of nations has started to debate the inclusion of two new nations, Iran and Saudi Arabia, into their global bloc.
The group, according to the report, plans to decide this year whether to admit new members and what criteria they would have to meet.
Bloomberg added that the group 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.
CEO of Brand South Africa, Sithembile Ntombela, says that Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are a bloc of influential emerging market economies that are collaborating to restructure the global economic multilateral order to make it fairer, more inclusive, and more equitable.
She said that these nations account for about 42% of the world’s population and 24% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP); however, they collectively hold less than 15% of voting rights in both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Ntombela said an expanded BRICS will be beneficial to South Africa as it will allow our country to extend its global influence and strengthen trade ties with a wide range of powerful emerging market economies.
"As BRICS chairman from 2023, President Ramaphosa will also oversee the expansion of the bloc, which may welcome new members. Soon after President Xi Jinping announced it during the 14th BRICS summit that was held virtually in late June this year, Iran and Argentina announced that they had submitted their applications to join the group," she says.
She added that the announcements were followed by media reports that Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Senegal, and Thailand were also interested in joining the BRICS.
"Although there are no criteria that has been set to determine how will the new BRICS members will be selected, any of the potential members will add weight to the bloc, which already consists of resource-rich nations and highly industrialised economies," added Ntombela.
The Acting CEO said that South Africa is considered a door or entry point to Africa by many multinationals looking to do business on the continent, and it also played a significant role in the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which has created a market of 1.4 billion people with a continent-wide GDP of $2.6 trillion.
"The AfCFTA, which was officially launched in January last year, has removed import tariffs and will progressively promote regional integration, develop new regional value chains, and stimulate industrial and infrastructure development across Africa.
At the 14th BRICS Summit in late June, the bloc’s member countries released a 75-point joint statement, known as the Beijing Declaration, which, among other things, expressed support for AfCFTA. In the declaration, BRICS also committed to assisting Africa to accelerate industrialisation and infrastructure development, which are pre-conditions for driving trade and investment on the continent," she said.
Ntombela says that given that South Africa is the most industrialised economy in Africa with an advanced logistics infrastructure and a sophisticated financial system, the country is in an advantageous position to capitalise on the trade and investment benefits presented by the AfCFTA and an expanded BRICS, particularly in key sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, e-commerce, and the services industry, in which it has a competitive edge.
The Star