JOHANNESBURG: Leaders of the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are all set to open a summit here today (Tuesday) where they will discuss expanding membership as some members seek to turn the bloc into a counterweight to the West.
Countries forming BRICS account for a quarter of the global economy. There are many other countries showing interest in joining the club. The three-day summit in Johannesburg starts today.
Security has been beefed up in the city, where South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and about 50 other leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is the target of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine and will not attend in person, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been sent on his behalf.
The group has a representation of the world’s 40 per cent of population with economies at different levels.
BRICS was formed with the desire in form of global order that they say better reflects their interests and growing influence.
BRICS and Africa form the theme of the summit and comes as the continent becomes a renewed diplomatic battleground with the United States, Russia and China all making efforts in establishing their stronghold.
On the eve of the summit, Ramaphosa said his country “will not be drawn into a competition between global powers” and strongly reaffirmed South Africa’s long-standing policy of non-alignment.
“We will urge the international community to refocus on development issues, promote a greater role for the BRICS cooperation mechanism in global governance, and strengthen the BRICS voice,” China’s Xi said in an editorial published in South African media on Monday.
Interest is growing in the bloc, which began in 2009 as four nations but expanded to include South Africa the following year.
Ahead of that summit, at least 40 countries have expressed interest in joining, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Argentina, officials say.
South Africa will present a proposal to BRICS leaders to expand its membership base and a decision on the matter is expected at the end of the summit.
But analysts are more cautious. The expansion is particularly dividing its two most powerful members, China and India with the first interested in the bloc’s rapid growth and expanding its influence, but observers believe that India is wary of its regional rival’s intentions.
“In my view, a possible further extension will be considered later this year and not decided at the summit to allow more time,” said Jannie Rossouw, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
BRICS operates by consensus and this is a “major obstacle” to decision-making, said Jakkie Cilliers, founder of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank.
“In the long term, my view is that the inevitability of Sino-Indian rivalry is probably the main challenge that the BRICS will eventually face.”
