African nation wants to join BRICS

The Zimbabwean government would like to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc, the speaker of the ruling party ZANU-PF said on Wednesday.

“We made it clear that we would like to become a member of the BRICS,” Christopher Mutsvangwa told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.

The official added that his country is interested in developing alternatives to the Western-dominated SWIFT payment network. In his view, BRICS could contribute to that.

Mutsvangwa described BRICS as a new force in international relations, and said he hopes its growth and expansion will continue.

The five BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – account for more than 40% of the world’s population and nearly a quarter of global GDP.

Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “more than a dozen” nations have expressed an interest in entering the BRICS alliance.

They include Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

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