BEIRUT, August 14. /TASS/. The forthcoming expansion of the BRICS through the accession of new members will be a turning point in the history of this international association, which now accounts for over 30% of world production. Lebanese diplomat Adnan Mansour shared this opinion in an interview with TASS. Mansour served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon in 2011-2014.
In his opinion, the August 22-24 summit in Johannesburg will strengthen the position of the BRICS as a force that opposes the unipolar world, which allowed the US and its allies to establish favorable rules of the game in world trade.
"The balance of power in international economic relations will be different after the BRICS summit in South Africa, since this association will be joined by a new group of influential states such as Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," the expert emphasized, "The event will contribute to global stabilization, dialogue, partnership and progress."
According to the former Lebanese Foreign Minister, the Western powers will have to recognize the fact that the BRICS is turning into an analogue of the Group of Seven (G7) on the world stage."
BRICS is already at the forefront of world politics, but we are looking forward to this important summit, because it will lay the foundations of a new multipolar order," he said.
According to Mansour, all members of the association will need to make more efforts to achieve common goals. "But it is obvious that the dominance of the dollar in world trade is coming to an end, and the United States, which has created about 900 large and small military bases outside its territory, will not be able to dictate its will to other peoples as before," the diplomat said.
The former Foreign Minister believes that the BRICS expansion process will not end, given that dozens of countries have expressed interest in joining this association and a desire to cooperate with it. He referred to the activity of the New Development Bank (NDB), which has financed about 100 projects worth $33.2 billion as an example of the success of BRICS initiatives.
The group's summit will be held in Johannesburg on August 22-24. It will be the largest meeting of heads of state and government of the Global South in recent years. The invitees included the leaders of 54 African countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in an online format. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Johannesburg to represent Russia at the summit in person.