South Africa Confirms 23 Countries Want to Join BRICS Group

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor reported on Monday that leaders of 23 countries from around the world officially expressed their desire to join BRICS.

RELATED:
BRICS Can Play Exceptional Role Globally: President Lula

"We have received official expressions of interest from the leaders of 23 countries to join BRICS, and further informal consultations on membership possibilities," Pandor said during a press conference broadcast via YouTube platform.

The minister said the 23 countries keen to join the group are Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.

According to the official, the high level of interest confirms the status of BRICS as an advanced organization that defends the interests of the countries of the Global South.

The tweet reads, "South Africa is fully prepared to host the BRICS summit and is confident of its success. This was stated by the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, at a briefing on the upcoming meeting."

The possible expansion of BRICS, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be among the central themes of the group's upcoming summit, to be held August 22-24 in the South African city of Johannesburg.

The BRICS group, currently chaired by South Africa, accounts for more than 30% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 40% of the world's population.

Recently, Venezuela, with the world's largest oil reserves, formalized its application to join the bloc. Bolivia has done the same, standing out as the country with the largest lithium reserves on the planet.