Cape Town - BRICS foreign ministers have once again asserted the bloc's aspiration to provide leadership in a multipolar world.
In public opening remarks before their private talks in the city on Thursday, the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa and a deputy minister from China said they were open to admitting new members, including oil-producing countries - an expansion likely to be on the agenda of the ministers' two-day gathering ending on Friday.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud were both present to participate in the meeting.
Their two countries, along with Venezuela, Argentina, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates are among those that have either formally applied to join BRICS or expressed interest, officials said.
International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor, who hosted her BRICS counterparts, said: "Our vision of BRICS is for our partnership to provide global leadership in a world fractured by competition, geopolitical tension, inequality and deteriorating global security."
"We will also explore opportunities for de-risking our BRICS institutions in the current financial landscape," Pandor said in her opening remarks.
Ma Zhaoxu, China’s vice minister of foreign affairs said: “I believe the enlargement of BRICS will be beneficial to BRICS countries and developing countries”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “Indeed we discussed this issue [BRICS expansion] and I did discuss it with the [foreign] minister from Saudi Arabia this morning. As regards to the approach of BRICS it is still being shaped, it is evolving.”
Their meeting precedes the BRICS Summit, expected to be attended by the bloc’s heads of state including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pandor confirmed that the summit in August would be in Johannesburg. Pandor said the South African government was mulling its options if Putin came to the summit.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.
As a member of the ICC, South Africa would theoretically be required to arrest Putin.
Pandor was bombarded with questions about that as she arrived for a first round of talks with her counterparts.
“Our government is currently looking at what the legal options are with respect to this matter.
The answer is the president (Cyril Ramaphosa) will indicate what the final position of South Africa is. As matters stand, an invitation has been issued to all (BRICS) heads of state,” Pandor said.
Lavrov accused Western powers of using sanctions against his and other countries as an instrument of colonialism and to unfairly suppress rivals in the global power struggle.
Cape Times