The leaders of the BRICS countries approved the final declaration of the 15th summit of the association, called “Johannesburg-2”, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, which paved the way for Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to join the economic alliance.
The text of the Johannesburg Declaration is published on the official website of the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
“As five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been in discussion for quite a while. We have a consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and other phases will follow. We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” said Ramaphosa.
Full membership of the new countries in the organization will begin on 1 January 2024.
Ramaphosa also said that the BRICS leaders had instructed their countries’ ministries of finance and central banks to consider launching payment instruments and platforms based on national currencies.
“I would like to congratulate our new bloc partners, who will start to cooperate on a full-scale next year. I would like to assure our colleagues that we will continue the work that we have started today to expand the influence of BRICS in the world. I mean the establishment of practical work with new members of the organization and those who will work in the BRICS+ format, with our partners, who in one way or another pay attention to cooperation in our organization and would like to work with us together.”
In his speech, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil is pleased to welcome Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Iran to the BRICS.
“The BRICS GDP is now 36 per cent of the world’s GDP in purchasing power parity terms. That is 46 per cent of the world’s population. BRICS will remain open to new applicants, and for this, we have approved criteria and procedures for future membership. We have also approved the establishment of a working group to study the adoption of a BRICS currency.”
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, added: “Together with the new BRICS members, we can revitalize the momentum and energy of our cooperation. India has a very close historical relationship with all these nations. BRICS modernisation is a message that global institutions need to hear to adapt to a changing world. It is an initiative that can serve as an example for reforming other international structures that were established in the twentieth century.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that today can be called a historic day.
“This step shows the determination of the BRICS countries to expand their engagement with the expanding countries, to focus on international cooperation. It is also a new starting point for BRICS interaction – a new impetus for the BRICS mechanism of interaction in the interests of peace and stability. I am confident that by working in common interests, we will be able to achieve a lot and ensure a bright future for the BRICS countries.”
One thousand and five hundred people attended the BRICS business forum, and investments and cooperation between South Africa, African countries and association members were discussed.
African Times is a partner of the international media network TV BRICS. https://tvbrics.com/en/news/argentina-egypt-egypt-ethiopia-iran-saudi-arabia-and-uae-to-join-brics/
