NEW YORK, August 21. /TASS/. The expansion of BRICS via countries like Saudi Arabia would become a moral victory for Russia and China, according to Associated Press.
"Even an agreement on the principle of expanding BRICS, which already consists of a large chunk of the developing world’s biggest economies, is a moral victory for the Russian and Chinese vision for the bloc as a counterbalance to the G-7," AP says.
According to Prof. Alexis Habiyaremye of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Johannesburg, accession of such major actors as Saudi Arabia to the BRICS will strengthen the economic component of the association.
India’s ex-envoy to Riyadh Talmiz Ahmad told AP that Saudi Arabia’s accession to the BRICS would "bring extraordinary importance to this grouping."
Over 20 countries have applied for accession to the BRICS. In addition to Saudi Arabia, these states include Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE. The expansion will be discussed on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit on August 22-24 in South Africa. It will become the largest meeting of leaders of the Global South in the recent years.
Leaders of 54 African countries were invited to the event. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in this event via video conference. Russia will be represented in-person by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.