BRICS Summit 2023 creates speculation over selection of new members

As the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa get ready to meet for the 15th BRICS summit, on 22–24 August, observers have high hopes for what will come out of the meeting.

It will be the first time that representatives of the five emerging economies will meet in person – in South Africa – since the Covid-19 pandemic. Many other countries are looking forward to BRICS as a way to help their own economies recover as well, according to an article published today by China Daily. It was shared by the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.

Since the group's growth is likely to be announced at the BRICS summit, there is a lot of interest in how new members are chosen and which countries would be eligible.

The article quotes Philani Mthembu, executive director of the Institute for Global Dialogue at the University of South Africa, saying the fact that the summit will be BRICS' first physical meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic shows that the member countries are making progress towards recovery, even though the Ukraine war has affected all.

'BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism' is the theme of this year's summit.

Mthembu remarked on the multilateral aspect: "There is an acknowledgment that multilateralism has been in crisis in the last few years. It has not achieved the things it set out to do… One of the key focus areas in the theme is strengthening inclusive multilateralism. It is important that South Africa brings an African focus into the theme."

Kenyan scholar Cavince Adhere, who studies international relations and focuses on China-Africa development cooperation, said that African countries expect BRICS to give them more chances to trade and invest with member countries.

Noting that the people of the BRICS countries make up more than 40% of the world's population as a whole, he said that access to these large markets could help many emerging economies in Africa grow and develop quickly.

The China Daily article quoted Adhere as saying, "In an increasingly polarized world, BRICS can create an enabling avenue for African countries to fashion a more inclusive global economic and political order, which has been dominated by Western powers."

He said the fact that more than 40 countries have said they want to join BRICS at the summit shows how popular the group is, since most countries think that if they join, they can solve their development problems.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the BRICS Summit 2023, the foreign ministry has confirmed.

Bangladesh has received the formal invitation from the host South Africa. The summit will be hosted at the Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) in Johannesburg.

Earlier, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen had said that Bangladesh is likely to become a member of BRICS in August this year.

"BRICS leaders are thinking of taking some emerging economies – around eight new countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Bangladesh," he told reporters.