More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS group of nations, South Africa’s top diplomat in charge of relations with the bloc said on Thursday.

Aside from the 22 countries that had formally asked to join, there was “an equal number of countries that have informally expressed interest in becoming BRICS members … (including) all the major global south countries,” South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal said on Thursday.

Nations such as Saudi Arabia and Iran have made official requests to join BRICS. Additionally, several other countries, including Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, and Indonesia, have shown interest in becoming members of the BRICS group, according to media reports.
BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

South Africa took over the BRICS rotating presidency from China on January 1, 2023.

Source: CGTN Africa

BDST: 2033 HRS, JULY 20, 2023
MSK