PARIS, August 23. /TASS/. The BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is a reliable alternative for the countries of the Global South to the values being offered by the Western countries, the executive director of the French Institute for Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Studies, Joan Deas, said on the RFI radio station.

"The fact that South Africa is hosting the BRICS summit explains why so many African countries are invited to it. It proves the popularity of this group in the Global South. It looks a credible alternative to the Western model," she said.

She added that BRICS values "are perhaps more attractive to these countries than the conditions that the West has imposed on them for decades, which have led to their humiliation and marginalization."

The BRICS summit is being held in Johannesburg on August 22-24. It will be the largest meeting of the heads of state and government from the Global South in recent years. The leaders of 54 African countries are among those invited. According to the Kremlin’s press service, the final agreements will be included in the Johannesburg Declaration of the 15 BRICS summit.