BRICS summit to launch in South Africa, expansion to be decided on
3 Min Read
During the summit, South Africa is expected to present a proposal to expand its membership, which is a divisive issue, especially for China and India.
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A man walks past a banner outside the venue for the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, on August 20, 2023. (AFP)
BRICS leaders are due to convene in the South African capital of Johannesburg on Tuesday while security across the city has been taken to the next level as the host president Cyril Ramaphosa will welcome China's President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and around 50 other leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the conference in person given the international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine issued against him, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was sent on his behalf.
The 15th summit's theme this year is "BRICS and Africa", while Ramaphosa stated that South Africa won't "be drawn into a contest between global powers" and reinstated South Africa's long-standing policy of non-alignment.
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In an editorial published in South African media on Monday, Xi urged "the international community to refocus on development issues, promote a greater role by the BRICS cooperation mechanism in global governance, and make the voice of BRICS stronger".
Consensus and 'a major obstacle'
During the summit, South Africa is expected to present a proposal to expand its membership, which is a divisive issue, especially for China and India - China is anxious to grow its influence but India is skeptical of the intentions of its rival.
A professor of global political economy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Jannie Rossouw, stated: "In my view, the possible further extension will be considered during the course of this year and not decided at the summit to allow for more time".
Jakkie Cilliers, founder of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank, sees that the bloc operates on consensus which poses "a major obstacle" to decision-making.
"In the long term, my view is that the inevitability of China-India rivalry is probably the major challenge that BRICS will eventually be confronted with," he expressed to AFP. Meanwhile, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal mentioned that all existing BRICS members welcome expansion, but the decision should be collective, taking into account all relevant details.
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Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran submitted applications, and countries interested include Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, and Indonesia - but countries, namely France, were told loud and clear that its president, Emmanuel Macron, was not invited.
