South Africa invites Iranian FM to BRICS summit

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 May 2023 19:09
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The summit is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg between August 22-24.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has received an invitation from South Africa to attend the upcoming BRICS summit scheduled in August, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs said on Monday.

Mehdi Safari said the meeting, which will take place in Johannesburg between August 22-24, will be a good opportunity for Iran to hold discussions on its sidelines with other countries to develop cooperation in various fields and sectors.

Responding to a question about Iran's application status to join the organization, the diplomat said the founding countries did not disclose criteria for approving new members, but he noted that “with the criteria and abilities we have, we can easily adapt ourselves to their standards.”

Safari added that out of around 19 countries that applied to join BRICS, Iran is one of the first countries to do so.

In June 2022, the Islamic Republic applied to join the group, hoping that Iran's BRICS membership would result in "added values" for both sides.

BRICS members account for 30% of the global gross output and 40% of the global population. The bloc includes the world's major developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It was also announced, recently, that a handful of medium-sized economies intend to join the bloc: Venezuela, Argentina, Algeria Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.