In the aftermath of the 15th BRICS summit held in South Africa, a momentous announcement reverberated through the halls. The closing day of the Brics-Africa Outreach forum was marked by news that affirms the ambitions of this nascent alliance.
In a consequential move, the membership of six nations has received official endorsement. “Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are now part of BRICS,” declared South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. These additions are slated to come into effect from January 1, 2024.
With these entrants, the BRICS consortium now stands at 11 member countries. President Cyril Ramaphosa underscored, “A new chapter begins for BRICS with this summit,” during a joint press conference attended by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
However, Algeria finds itself on the outside looking in. Despite aiming for inclusion in BRICS as a pivotal economic objective for 2023, Algeria must await forthcoming expansion rounds for its possible admission to the fold.
In the initial phase of BRICS expansion, the spotlight was on inviting Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join the group as full members by January 2024.
This leaves Algeria, which had aspired to a prompt entry into the fold this year, in a holding pattern for the next rounds of BRICS expansion to realize its aspirations.
Many anticipators had foreseen Algeria’s non-selection, particularly after President Tebboune decided to abstain from attending the 15th summit, delegating representation to Finance Minister Laaziz Faid instead. However, over the past months, Abdelmadjid Tebboune vigorously championed Algeria’s inclusion, engaging influential leaders of member countries, including Putin (Russia) in June and Xi Jinping (China) in July.
Consequently, Algeria, among the ranks of 23 countries aspiring to join BRICS, will need to cultivate patience and bolster its economic indicators to fortify its candidacy. Following this opening phase, South African President Ramaphosa underscored the inevitability of “subsequent phases.”
The topic of expansion, which featured prominently during the 15th BRICS summit, reflects the interests and requests of numerous nations, including Algeria. South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Naledi Pandor clarified, “We’ve reached consensus on the expansion matter. We’ve adopted a comprehensive framework that delineates guidelines, principles, and evaluation mechanisms for countries seeking BRICS membership,” as he shared insights on South African radio.
With positive developments in this direction, the South African diplomat offered a promising note, indicating that “progress is firmly underway.”