BRICS member states adopt Johannesburg II Declaration

BRICS member states have officially adopted the Johannesburg II Declaration, a document that encapsulates the bloc’s viewpoints on matters of global economic, financial and political significance.

This was announced by the Chair of BRICS President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday during a media briefing to announce the outcomes of the XV BRICS Summit.

“We adopted the Johannesburg II Declaration which reflects key BRICS messages on matters of global economic, financial and political importance. It demonstrates the shared values and common interests that underlie our mutually beneficial cooperation as the five BRICS countries.

“BRICS itself is a diverse group of nations. It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but have a shared vision for a better world,” Ramaphosa said.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met in Sandton, Johannesburg, from 22 to 24 August 2023 for the XV BRICS Summit.

The five heads of state emphasised that they are ready to explore opportunities for improving the stability, reliability and fairness of the global financial architecture.

In the declaration, they acknowledged the widespread benefits of fast, inexpensive, transparent, safe, and inclusive payment systems.

The Summit agreed to task the BRICS Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors, as appropriate, to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms.

The ministers are expected to report back to the BRICS leaders by the next Summit.

BRICS expansion

Meanwhile, the bloc has also reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been one of its top priorities.

“We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow.

“We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS. The membership will take effect from 1 January 2024,” Ramaphosa revealed.

This announcement is expected to propel the group towards increased global influence in world relations as it already represents more than 40% of the world’s population (at least 3 billion people) and some 31% of the global GDP.