South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor hints at BRICS expansion in August. The BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg and the bloc of five nations will jointly decide on the expansion. A total of 44 countries have expressed interest to join the BRICS bloc a month ahead of the summit. While 22 countries have formally sent their applications, the other 22 nations have expressed interest verbally.
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Out of the 44 countries, only three nations might be inducted into the BRICS alliance, according to Pandor. The announcement regarding the induction could be made during the next summit in August. BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Russia’s Vladimir Putin will attend the summit virtually in fear of being arrested for war crimes against Ukraine.
3 New Countries Ready To Join BRICS Alliance In August Summit
Pandor indicated that three new countries could join the BRICS alliance this year making the expansion to BRICS+. However, she did not disclose the names of the three countries but said that “fantastic” news will be revealed at the summit.
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The three new countries most likely to join the bloc are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Argentina. BRICS needs funding from oil-rich countries and Saudi Arabia and the UAE might be the best choice for induction. The New Development Bank (NDB) is already in talks with Saudi Arabia to receive funding and challenge the U.S. dollar.
On the other hand, Argentina is allowing multinational cooperations to settle trade in the Chinese Yuan and not the U.S. dollar. Argentina is facing a dollar shortage and could stand a chance to enter the BRICS bloc. Read here to know how America’s leading home appliance brand Whirlpool is eager to pay in the Chinese Yuan and not the U.S. dollar in Argentina.
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