With the sponsorship of Russia and South Africa, Iran entered the list of strong candidates to be admitted to the Brics (bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
At the same time, the Presidency’s international adviser, Ambassador Celso Amorim, made a statement that goes against the grain of the official discourse being adopted by the Brazilian government on the group’s expansion: he said that first the new members will be chosen, and then admission criteria will be established.
So far, Brazilian authorities have been highlighting that it was first necessary to define the criteria and rules for the selection of new members.
President Lula (PT) and leaders Xi Jinping (China), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa) and Narendra Modi (India) are meeting in Johannesburg for negotiations on how the entity’s expansion will take place.
Until Tuesday (22nd), the list of strong candidates was made up of Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Indonesia.
According to interlocutors, Indonesia has expressed to the current members of the Brics that it would like to discuss its entry at another time. The obstacle for Indonesians to join now would be the fact that they currently hold the rotating presidency of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
Thus, in addition to the inclusion of Iran, the countries are debating the entry of another African country, to follow a geographical balance criterion.
In all, more than 20 countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc. The list includes, among others, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Morocco, Nigeria, Venezuela and Vietnam.
This Wednesday morning (23rd), Amorim said that first the new members will be defined and then the criteria.
“This business of criteria, you know… You choose the countries and then you define the criteria,” said Amorim.
“The countries that are placed there. I will not say that it is an absolute criterion, but it is natural that you look for some geographical balance. Countries that represent a certain diversity, but Brazil has no problem with any of the names that are placed”, he added. .
Amorim accompanied Lula to the restricted meeting with the other leaders that took place on Tuesday night. On the occasion, the leaders discussed the issue of expansion.
A new round of talks should take place this Wednesday.
