South Africa is in favor of expanding the membership of BRICS, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said, in a nationally televised address on Sunday evening, prior to the 15th summit of the economic bloc, which his country is hosting this week.
“South Africa supports the expansion of the membership of BRICS. The value of BRICS extends beyond the interests of its current members,” he explained.
According to Ramaphosa, more than 20 countries have formally applied to join BRICS and several others have expressed an interest in being part of the five-nation grouping.
The summit will be held in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24, with leaders expected to address the possible expansion of the bloc, which currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The summit will be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while President Vladimir Putin will participate via videoconference.