BRICS leaders agree on bloc expansion

BRICS leaders have agreed to expand the club of major emerging economies and adopted conditions for entry, South Africa said, as the bloc pursues greater clout to shape the world order.

South African officials say nearly two dozen countries have formally applied to join BRICS, which accounts for 40 percent of the world's population and a quarter of the global economy.

On Wednesday, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said BRICS leaders had "agreed on the matter of expansion", and a detailed announcement would be made before the summit's close on Thursday.

"We have a document that we have adopted that sets out guidelines and principles, processes, for considering countries that wish to become members of BRICS," Pandor told state-run Ubuntu Radio.

"That's very positive."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told the summit that he supported opening the door to new members and "welcomes moving forward with consensus".

"We stand at the cusp of expanding the BRICS family," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The bloc makes decisions by consensus, and no new members have been admitted since South Africa in 2010.

'Turbulence and transformation'

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on just his second trip abroad this year, said expanding the bloc would "pool our strength (and) pool our wisdom to make global governance more just and equitable."

"We gather at a time when the world is undergoing major shifts, divisions, and regrouping. It has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation," said Xi, whose nation represents about 70 percent of the BRICS total GDP.

US officials have played down the likelihood of BRICS emerging as a geopolitical rival, describing the bloc as a "very diverse collection of countries" containing both friends and rivals.

The BRICS are a disparate mix of big and small economies, democratic and authoritarian states, but share a collective desire to challenge the Western-led global order they say does not serve their interests or rising clout.

Some of those interested in joining the bloc include oil giants Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

In his address on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said the bloc is an inclusive formation of developing and emerging economies that are working together to benefit from their rich histories, cultures, and systems in order to advance common prosperity.

"We do so because we know that poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment are the biggest challenges facing humankind," Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa noted that BRICS is committed to advancing the interests of the global south and is ready to collaborate with all countries seeking to create a more inclusive international order.

"We are confident that this 15th BRICS summit will enrich and inspire our work towards the achievement of a more humane global community," he said.

BRICS divide

Analysts said that in considering new members, Brazil, South Africa and India would have to balance a desire for good ties with China and Russia against the risk of estranging the United States, a major trading partner.

Some 50 heads of state and government have joined BRICS leaders in Johannesburg.

BRICS leaders say the level of interest was proof its message resonated deeply in the "Global South" – a broad term referring to nations outside the West.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has championed the BRICS development bank as an alternative to the Washington, DC-based lending institutions, said he supported the entry of Argentina.

But the South American powerhouse feared "diluting" the influence of BRICS should it expand too quickly, said Gustavo de Carvalho, senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

"There is definitely a divide among BRICS members at the moment," he said.