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they see as a European problem that doesn't concern them. The unintended consequence has been for many EMs to turn to the BRICS as a counterweight to US-led pressure on them.
The proposed enlargement has raised concerns among current members, who fear their influence could be diluted, especially if China's close allies are admitted. China's gross domestic product (GDP) is more than twice the size of all four other BRICS members combined.
The BRICS countries are working to find consensus on the issue of expanding the alliance, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said in an interview with Spain’s El Mundo published on April 25.
"Currently, a discussion is underway within BRICS on its expansion but we are looking for consensus," the top Brazilian diplomat said. "But if we agree on expanding the union, then of course Argentina will be Brazil’s candidate,"
he added.
The foreign ministers from the five member states have confirmed their attendance for the discussions in June. Several heads of state are expected to travel to the summit too, including possibly President Vladimir Putin.
South Africa’s Sooklal has confirmed that Putin has been invited and says
President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the weekend that his government was going to pull out of the ICC to allow Putin to come, but then walked those comments back less than 24 hours later, as the decision is deemed to be unconstitutional. The Kremlin has requested clarification from Pretoria on the situation.
The decision to add South Africa marked a change of direction. O’Neill’s original configuration of BRIC was predicated simply on the fact that all four of those countries were very large, developing, had large populations and great economic potential. South Africa doesn't fit all of those criteria but it is one of the leading economies in Africa, and the African continent as a whole does qualify.
More than a dozen countries have applied for membership and it seems like that some of them will be accepted on the basis of their geography, rather than O’Neill’s criteria.
Relations between the Middle East and the US have decayed rapidly since the so-called shale revolution saw the US go from a net oil importer to a net exporter. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are both former close US allies, but have both seen relations with Washington sour, and now hoping to move closer to the other leading EMs. As leading countries
America’s clout in the organisation and has proposed Argentina become
a member too, while Nicaragua and Venezuela are also both close to Russia.
Amongst the other candidates are Algeria, Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia – all Russian allies and customers of its commodities. Two nations from East Africa and one from West Africa have also shown interest, although Sooklal did not identify them.
Algeria, Argentina and Iran have already formally filed requests to join BRICS, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have signalled their interest, but are yet to make a formal request.
Tellingly, expanding the club is not the only topic of discussion on the agenda: the BRICS members are going to talk about payments too. As bne IntelliNews has reported, part of the changes that come with the rise of the BRICS is a drive to dump the dollar and trade in national currencies. Both Russia and China have already largely moved over using the yuan to settle international trade deals and the share of the dollar in sovereign reserves has already notably fallen. A large group of EMs co-ordinating a change out of the dollar could accelerate that process, as well help sanction-proof their economies from Western pressure.
"What was discussed during a visit to Buenos Aires and then in Montevideo and in a conversation with Paraguayan President [Mario Abdo Benitez], as well as with other countries, such as India and China, involved a payment system in national currencies and not a common currency,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira told El Mundo.
"We would like to make bilateral payments in trade using corresponding currencies, bypassing strong currencies, thus avoiding burdensome transfer expenses," the Brazilian foreign minister concluded.
To make a multilateral payment system work will require a multilateral bank
to guarantee the payments. But that has already been set up, the New
“Currently, a discussion is underway within BRICS on its expansion but we are looking for consensus”
he is expecting him to come, but a question mark was raised over Putin’s attendance after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the Russian president's arrest on March 16 for the illegal deportation of at least 100 Ukrainian children.
Confusion now reigns over Putin’s attendance after South African
in the Middle East their accession would bring a new and important EM geography into the alliance – and one that controls vital supplies of the world’s oil together with Russia. Iran, another Russian ally, has also applied for membership, as has Bahrain.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is hoping to bolster South
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