Following the addition of six more countries to the BRICS bloc, the Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, outlined the criteria used in selecting the new members, reported the Sunday Times.
On Thursday (24 August), leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed to expand their BRICS group – officially inviting Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, who will become full members effective 1 January 2024.
This brings the number of members from five to 11, with the possibility of its number growing even further in the future; as President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and other phases will follow”.
However, in a post-summit interview, Pandor noted that the partners had not discussed the envisaged size of the bloc, but she believed “modest” growth was ideal so the group did not become big and unwieldy, reported the Sunday Times
“Let’s see where we go, see what develops and see how we relate to the G-77 (plus China) and the Non-Aligned Movement, of which we are members. I think it’s good to have a modest expansion rather than it becoming too big,” said Pandor.
Membership criteria
In light of the fact that 23 countries had applied to become members, Pandor noted that it took some debate to finalise who would become members and what criteria would need to be met to be an acceptable addition to the bloc.
“There were differences. Some of the members were wary of moving too fast, becoming too big, issues of ensuring a balance among the regions, but in the end, I think all of us are happy with the conclusions.”
Pandor outlined that the group focused on five main areas, which were:
- A commitment to progressive ideas;
- Recognising the UN as a “premier global institution”;
- Belief in peace and respect for international law;
- Believe in freedom and justice; and
- The pursuit of equity and development.
“These are the underlying general principles that we elaborated on in the guideline document,” she added.
New Currency
As the BRICS summit took off in Johannesburg last week, there was a lot of talk surrounding the notion of a new BRICS currency, with the aim of “de-dollarisation” as a means to counter the strength of the US dollar in the global economy.
However, Pandor said the term ‘de-dollarisation’ is “actually a foolish phrase” which she does not use.
According to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, suggestions that the BRICS group of emerging market powers establish their own currency to reduce their reliance on the dollar aren’t under serious consideration and never have been.
“Setting up a common currency presupposes setting up a central bank, and that presupposes losing independence on monetary policies, and I don’t think any country is ready for that,” he said.
