While the plans to expand BRICS have caused a lot of excitement amongst African leaders, questions on how the economic bloc will manage tensions among its members persist.
Analysts have described the just-announced BRICS bloc expansion as a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape. The group unveiled its Johannesburg Declaration II on Thursday, August 24, 2023, after concluding the 15th BRICS summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current BRICS chairperson, told journalists at a media briefing in Johannesburg that six new countries will join the BRICS.
“We have decided to invite the Argentina 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 to become full members of BRICS. The membership will take effect from January 1, 2024.”
Africa welcomes new additions to BRICS
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, chairperson of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), described Africa’s new partnership with BRICS as a win-win.
“We see this as a rare opportunity to address the challenges we have been talking about for a long time and on many platforms,” Hichilema said.
“We need to reform the global order in particular to address the inequities associated with critical ingredients to development such as capital. Africa pays a higher cost of capital than any other on the globe,” the Zambian leader stated, adding that the BRICS platform should and could be used to work through and expedite the reform processes around issues inhibiting development.”
Africa relishes new role in the global order
Including two African countries — Egypt and Ethiopia — in this list has generated much interest in the continent. “The partnership between BRICS and Africa goes beyond convenience,” Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who chairs the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), told the BRICS-Africa dialogue meeting in Johannesburg. “It is a step that places Africa in its rightful position within the global order.”
Gideon Chitanga, a Research Associate at the African Centre for the Study of the United States at the Witwatersrand University, told DW that the inclusion puts Africa in a good position to have a voice on global issues.
“You can see the deliberate effort to represent Africa regionally,” Chitanga told DW. “South Africa being from Southern Africa, they [BRICS] have added Ethiopia from East Africa and Egypt from North Africa,” Chitanga noted, adding that the decision intends to project the broader representation of African interests inclusively.
Managing tensions within BRICS
Amidst the euphoria, questions are being asked on whether the bloc can iron out Cairo and Addis Ababa’s differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam built on the Blue Nile.
Luanda Mpungose, an expert at the South African Institute of International Affairs, told DW that BRICS countries have always related well despite existing differences.
“Even with the original five countries, there were tensions between India and China, but you have never heard that India is not going to China to attend a conference and vice versa,” Mpungose said. “What makes the BRICS very unique is the set of principles that guide their cooperation.
BRICS expansion adds economic clout
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the new additions to BRICS would push the block to a 46% stake in the global population. Its combined GDP now jumps to 37% of the global economy.
The block has also tactfully selected Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, known for their rich oil reserves.
Brett Singh, a business delegate at the summit, said the expansion means an expanded market and a better trading environment.
“What I will be hoping to see is not just talking but also we can try and take action so that the ordinary citizen can also see contribution and see growth in our communities and neighborhoods and we grow as one and prosper as one,” Singh told DW.
Busisiwe Mabuza, a member of the BRICS Business Council, also welcomed the expansion. “We used to have a deregulations working group, which we have now refocused into a trade and investment working group that is going to track how we are performing in terms of balancing trade amongst our respective nations,” Mabuza said.
BRICS new currency?
A possible BRICS currency also generated much interest at the just-concluded summit. “We have noted that there is global momentum for the use of local currencies, alternative financial arrangements and alternative payment systems,” South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“As BRICS, we are ready to explore opportunities for improving the stability, reliability and fairness of the global financial architecture.”
However, he said the issue is still under consideration. BRICS ministers of finance and central bank governors have been tasked to go and deliberate on the use and strengthening of local currencies and payment systems and report back at the next BRICS summit.
Experts say creating a common currency-based payment system in the BRICS currency will simplify trade transactions.
Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu
