South Africa hosting BRICS summit amid expansion plan

Johannesburg is hosting a summit of the leaders of BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with the bloc's expansion being at the top of its agenda.

In an address ahead of the August 22 to 24 summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his support for the bloc's enlargement.

"An expanded BRICS will represent a diverse group of nations with different political systems that share a common desire to have a more balanced global order," he pointed out.

Ramaphosa hosted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a state visit on Tuesday morning ahead of meetings with the grouping's other leaders later in the day.

The summit will also be attended by Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the summit virtually.

Boosting the use of local currencies of member states also remains on the summit's agenda.

The BRICS leaders will reportedly hold a mini-retreat and dinner on Tuesday evening where they will probably discuss a framework and criteria for bringing in new members to the grouping, which is already home to nearly 40 percent of the world's population and a quarter of global GDP.

According to South African officials, more than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, with almost two dozen of them having formally asked to be admitted.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi is scheduled to participate in the 15th BRICS summit at the invitation of Ramaphosa.

Iran is among dozens of countries that seek membership in BRICS and has submitted a formal application to join the body.

Russia and China have welcomed Iran’s application and the group’s expansion to include international powerhouses.

The potential expansion of the bloc, referred to as BRICS +, aims to turn it into a geopolitical bloc to challenge Western financial and currency dominance.

SS