From left: Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, China's President Xi Jinping, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 August 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Alet Pretorius / Pool) 
China, South Africa and India have endorsed the idea of expanding the BRICS forum. Delivering the opening remarks at the 15th BRICS Summit, being held in Sandton, Johannesburg, heads of state outlined their priorities on Wednesday, 23 August.
BRICS reached a consensus on expansion last year, and its leaders supported discussions on refining the criteria and procedures for expansion.
China has been actively promoting BRICS expansion and strengthening its partnership with other countries.
“I am glad to see the growing enthusiasm of developing countries about BRICS cooperation, and quite a number of them have applied to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism. We need to act on the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation to bring more countries into the BRICS family, so as to pool our wisdom and strength to make global governance more just and equitable,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“BRICS expansion has become the top trending issue at the moment. Expansion is key to enhancing BRICS mechanism’s vitality. I believe this year’s summit will witness new and more solid steps on this front,” he said.
China has suggested the concept of a BRICS Plus cooperation framework to promote cooperation between members and other emerging markets and developing economies. The BRICS Plus framework aims to encourage invitee countries to learn about the rules and spirit of the forum.
Each BRICS country has suggested countries it would like to invite to join the platform, with China touting Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia to join the collective.
Indonesia reportedly wants to join BRICS, along with more than 20 other countries such as Argentina, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Read more in Daily Maverick: BRICS — Which countries want to join? See our interactive world map
Daily Maverick understands that South Africa named Egypt as its preferred country, while Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has previously endorsed Brazil’s neighbour Argentina.
President Cyril Ramaphosa clarified that a decision had not yet been finalised on the issue of expansion. This is despite the leaders and their foreign ministers attending a retreat to discuss the matter on Tuesday evening.
“New economic, political, social and technological realities call for greater cooperation between nations. These realities call for a fundamental reform of the institutions of global governance so that they may be more representative and better able to respond to the challenges that confront humanity,” Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.
“While firmly committed to advance the interests of the Global South, BRICS stands ready to collaborate with all countries that aspire to create a more inclusive international order. We are confident that this 15th BRICS Summit will advance the cause of common prosperity and progress.”
In his opening remarks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he “fully supports the expansion”. India had reportedly been worried the expansion could dilute its influence, but its external affairs minister last week told Daily Maverick it had “an open mind” but that there needed to be “some criteria, some standards”.
“We welcome moving forward with consensus on this,” Modi said on Wednesday.
Russia has been in favour of expansion, but in his recorded address President Vladimir Putin did not mention which direction his country would be taking. However, it is believed Russia has been advocating for Venezuela, Cuba and Belarus to join the forum.
Read more in Daily Maverick: BRICS expansion hopefuls seek to rebalance world order, but grouping’s shortcomings are in the spotlight
Earlier this week, Deputy President Paul Mashatile highlighted the economic benefits of the expansion.
“An expanded BRICS has the potential to attract substantial economic investments. It is crucial to capitalise on the opportunities presented by countries that are interested in joining our alliance and expanding invitations to foster a mutually advantageous alliance that promotes fairness and inclusivity in our market,” he said.
According to Bloomberg, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor told Ubuntu Radio on Wednesday: “We have a document, which we have adopted, that sets out guidelines and principles, processes for considering countries that wish to become members of BRICS.”
The final decision on expansion rests on consensus by all five heads of state, and a declaration is expected to be signed on Thursday to indicate once and for all whether BRICS will expand or stay as it is. DM