South African Ambassador Anil Sooklal confirmed in a recent interview that 20 new countries have formally applied to join BRICS. This comes after BRICS inducted six new countries Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia into the bloc in August. However, Argentina could be the only country to decline the BRICS invitation and not be a part of the grouping. Read here to know why Argentina is disinterested in joining the BRICS alliance.
Also Read: BRICS: De-Dollarization Gaining Steam in Developing Countries
Sooklal’s statements indicate that a handful of developing countries are interested in joining BRICS. Developing nations are now looking to strengthen their local currencies by ditching the US dollar for global trade. Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS stops using the dollar for trade.
BRICS: 20 New Countries Apply to Join The Alliance
The de-dollarization efforts are gaining steam as developing countries are looking to cut ties with the US dollar. Also, BRICS is the only hope to create a new world order and uproot the traditional financial order dominated by the West and the US. Therefore, the US dollar is at the crossroads of a change and could dip in value in the coming years.
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“Over 20 countries formally approached BRICS to become members,” said Sooklal to ANI. He added, “An equal number informally sought to get information to join BRICS. Such a Large interest is a reaffirmation that BRICS is playing a positive role in championing the cause of developing world.”
Moreover, the Ambassador continued that BRICS will see many more rounds of expansion. “We agreed on six members and BRICS works on consensus. President Ramaphosa said this is first phase of expansion and it doesn’t mean expansion will stop. You will have countries knocking on the door onto become BRICS members.”
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Sooklal revealed that Pakistan has also applied for BRICS membership. “Be it Pakistan or any other country. There are a large number of countries formally approaching us and this will be attended to by foreign ministers and leaders based on consensus,” he said.