More Than 20 BRICS Joint Register Countries

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Wikimedia Commons/Pal layoffcio do Plan

JAKARTA - More than 20 countries have officially signed up to join BRICS, a new economic alliance that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

"The BRICS expansion will represent groups of diverse countries with different political systems that have the same desire to have a more balanced global order," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Monday, August 21.

South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit on August 22-24 in Johannesburg. The summit will be attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Putin.

South Africa is one of the countries that signed the Rome Statute - an ICC formation agreement - so South Africa is obliged to cooperate in the surrender and arrest of individuals who have been indicted by the court body.

President Xi will arrive in South Africa on Monday or the day before the summit begins. It will be Xi's fourth state visit to the country.

South Africa and China are expected to sign several deals during Xi's visit.

Ramaphosa said more than 30 heads of state and government from all over Africa would attend the summit.

He said they wanted to build partnerships between BRICS and Africa so the continent could open up opportunities for increased trade, investment and infrastructure development.

Ramaphosa said apart from hosting other African leaders, they would also welcome leaders from several Global South countries -- a term that refers to countries described as developing and underdeveloped countries.

The leaders, among others, came from the Caribbean, South America, the Middle East, West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

He said United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would also attend the BRICS Summit to fulfill the bloc's invitation.

"Our support for the United Nations coincides with our strong belief that this major multilateral institution requires true reform to make it more democratic, representative and efficient," said the South African leader.

He also said the UN Security Council should be transformed into a more inclusive, effective agency capable of ensuring peace and security.

Ramaphosa said his country supports the expansion of BRICS membership, whose value exceeds the interests of its members today.

BRICS currently accounts for a quarter of the global economy, a fifth of global trade, and home to more than 40 percent of the world's population.