Morocco joins the race, officially submits application to join BRICS

Morocco has officially submitted its bid to join the BRICS grouping — or Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This comes ahead of next week’s much-anticipated summit in South Africa. 

With this, the Kingdom of Morocco joins other nations like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Egypt, which are also vying for a spot in the economic alliance.

The upcoming summit in South Africa will bring together around 60 heads of state and will set expansionary standards for possible new BRICS members. However, as per Coin Gape, the final decision on which countries will join the grouping will probably be deferred.

Talking to Bloomberg, South Africa’s BRICS Ambassador, Anil Sooklal clarified that the upcoming summit’s focus will be on promoting local currencies within the bloc.

“Trading in local currencies is clearly on the agenda, he said, adding, “There is no de-dollarization agenda item on the BRICS agenda.” 

“The dollar will remain a prominent global currency; that is a given,” said Sooklal.

He said that contrary to some narratives making the rounds; the bloc is not a counter to the West or the G7. Instead, he said the alliance aims to “advance the agenda of the Global South and build a more inclusive, representative, just, and fair global architecture.”

According to South Africa’s top diplomat in charge of relations with the bloc, more than 40 countries have expressed interested in joining the BRICS group of nations. Nations that expressed interest include Algeria, Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan.

Previously, in July, Algeria applied for a spot in the bloc and also submitted a request to become a shareholder member of the BRICS Bank. The North African nation, as per a Reuters report, seeks to join the economic alliance to open up new economic opportunities.

‮”‬We officially applied to join the BRICS group, we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank … Algeria’s first contribution in the bank will be $1.5 billion,” said Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as quoted by Ennahar TV.

Reuters reports that the nation which is rich in oil and gas reserves is seeking to diversify economy and also strengthen its partnership with countries like China.

BRICS, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, accounts for more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and about 26 per cent of the global economy.

(With inputs from agencies)

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