Six new member states have received invites from the BRICS alliance’s leaders; Algeria is conspicuously missing from the list.

Despite expressing open enthusiasm in doing so over the past year, the North African nation will not be joining the organization. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that the nation had formally applied to join during a recent trip to China.

Tebboune’s absence at the BRICS summit in South Africa also drew attention because Algeria was anticipated to maintain its significant involvement with the organization.

Algeria’s potential membership in the group has been openly discussed by a number of government officials in the media over the last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated earlier this year that Algeria “possesses features and advantages that put it above the others looking to join BRICS group.”

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates are among the coalition’s new members, which represents a significant expansion aimed at promoting the interests of the “global south” and strengthening the coalition’s influence.

In the context of rising geopolitical tensions, the BRICS organization—which also consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—wants to raise its profile on the international scene.

Especially at a time when the global balance of power is experiencing substantial changes, the inclusion of the new nations may pave the way for more nations desiring to join BRICS.

According to a statement made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the conference, the new members will formally join on January 1, 2024.

The BRICS coalition has historically struggled to portray a united agenda, limiting its efficacy as a significant participant on the international scene. The BRICS coalition accounts for close to 40% of the global population and a quarter of the global gross domestic product.22 nations have formally applied to join the BRICS, out of the more than 40 that have indicated interest.

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South Africa reiterated its backing for the Polisario separatist forces. Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, advocated on Sunday for the “Sahrawi people to secede from the Kingdom of Morocco.”

In his speech outlining the foundations of South Africa’s foreign policy ahead to the BRICS summit, Ramaphosa said that South Africa “supports and will continue to support marginalized and oppressed peoples in various parts of the world.”

He stated, “The freedom and international solidarity that we attained demands that we continue to support the colonized people who are subject to racial discrimination, like the Sahrawi people.”

Support for the Polisario Forces and opposition to Morocco’s territorial integrity are indications of South Africa’s stance toward Morocco.

On the other hand, a statement from the Indian government said that South Africa sent out invitations for the BRICS/Africa meeting, scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg, unilaterally and nationally.

“The President of South Africa’s remarks reveal a contradiction in the diplomatic rhetoric of this country. He opposes Morocco’s territorial integrity and important choices while simultaneously inviting it to the BRICS summit, according to international law expert Abbas El Ouardi.
On Saturday, Morocco denied having submitted an application to join the BRICS organization, stating that its participation in the BRICS/Africa meeting was “not at all possible at any level.”

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Abroad, Morocco was not asked about accepting the invitation to the BRICS/Africa summit.

“South Africa’s attempt to drag Morocco to this summit failed after Morocco decided not to participate for objective and realistic reasons that can be reflected in the South-African president’s statements,” claims Charifa Mouiyer, a political analyst for Hespress AR.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Abroad, the South African administration unilaterally decided to take the lead in organizing the BRICS conference.

Read also: BRICS/Africa” Meeting: South African Analyst Blasts ANC Government’s Untenable Contradictions

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South African analyst Sifiso Mahlangu blasted on Saturday the African National Congress (ANC)-led South African government’s untenable contradictions regarding the “BRICS/Africa” meeting scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg.

The South African government has trapped itself by inviting entities that have no democratic basis or sovereignty, Mahlangu told MAP, stressing that Morocco remains a sovereign country defending its legitimate interests.

The BRICS is a grouping of states and, as such, should not be transformed into a forum of entities, non-governmental organizations or ethnic groups, warned the South African analyst.

Algeria has become a central player in the instability of the West African region, noted Mahlangu, an influential commentator and specialist in African issues, underlining that Algeria’s destabilizing role is a source of deep concern.

He added that in this post-Covid19 era, the world is no longer a world of separation and disunity. It is a world of sovereign states that must work together on vital issues of economic cooperation, he said.

An authorized source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates said that for the Kingdom of Morocco, there has never been any question of responding positively to the invitation to the “BRICS/Africa” meeting scheduled to take place in South Africa, or of taking part in this meeting at any level whatsoever.

In response to recent media reports referring to a hypothetical bid by the Kingdom to join the “BRICS” group, as well as its possible participation in the next “BRICS/Africa” meeting, scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same source stresses that this was not a BRICS or African Union initiative, but an invitation from South Africa, in its national capacity.

Read also: Morocco publicly denies ambitions to join BRICS and blames South Africa of spreading disinformation

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For the Kingdom of Morocco, there has never been any question of responding positively to the invitation to the “BRICS/Africa” meeting scheduled to take place in South Africa, or of taking part in this meeting at any level whatsoever, says an authorized source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

In response to recent media reports referring to a hypothetical bid by the Kingdom to join the “BRICS” group, as well as its possible participation in the next “BRICS/Africa” meeting, scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same source stresses that this was not a BRICS or African Union initiative, but an invitation from South Africa, in its national capacity.

“It’s a meeting organized on the basis of a unilateral initiative by the South African government”, says the same source, adding that Morocco has therefore assessed this invitation in the light of its strained bilateral relationship with this country.

According to the same source, South Africa has always shown a primary hostility towards the Kingdom, and has systematically taken negative and dogmatic positions on the question of the Moroccan Sahara.

“Pretoria has thus multiplied, both nationally and within the African Union, its notoriously malicious actions against Morocco’s higher interests,” according to the same source.

It stresses that South African diplomacy is known for its light, improvised and unpredictable management when it comes to organizing this kind of event.

As proof, the source adds, the deliberate and provocative breaches of protocol that marked Morocco’s invitation to this meeting. Worse still, many countries and entities appear to have been invited arbitrarily by the host country, without any real basis or prior consultation with the other member countries of the BRICS Group.

“It had thus become clear that South Africa was going to hijack this event from its nature and purpose, to serve a hidden agenda”, says the same source, noting that Morocco consequently ruled out, from the outset, any favorable reaction to the South African invitation.

With regard to the Kingdom of Morocco’s relationship with the BRICS Group, the Ministry’s authorized source notes that, once again, South African diplomacy has arrogated to itself the right to talk about Morocco and its relationship with the BRICS, without prior consultation, deeming this to be “approximations” that in no way reflect reality.

For the same source, Morocco does indeed maintain substantial and promising bilateral relations with the other four members of the Group, and is even linked to three of them by Strategic Partnership Agreements. However, the Kingdom has never formally applied for membership of the « BRICS » group.

“There is as yet no framework or precise procedures governing the expansion of this grouping,” says the same source.

The authorized source adds that the future of Morocco’s relations with the grouping as such, whether in their nature or in their scope, “will fall within the general framework and strategic orientations of the Kingdom’s foreign policy, as defined by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God Assist Him.”

“Morocco remains committed to efficient, supportive and renewed multilateralism,” the same source emphasizes, saying that the Kingdom considers that multilateral platforms should not be used to encourage division or interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign States, nor should they create precedents that could, one day or another, turn against their initiators.

Read also: Morocco aims to join the G7 rival group known as BRICS

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On the list of countries hoping to join the BRICS economic community was Morocco. During a news conference on Monday, Neladi, the South African minister of foreign affairs, read the list.

South Africa, Brazil, China, and India make up the economic bloc.

The BRICS countries are engaged members of the UN, G20, Non-Aligned Movement, and Group of 77. The BRICS information portal states that the BRICS countries are also members of various regional organizations.

According to the Library of Congress, these countries’ foreign ministers first met informally in 2006; from there, more formal annual summits began in 2009.

On the basis of the relative purchasing power of their various currencies, the BRICS nations contributed about 27% of the global GDP in 2013. Together, the BRICS account for 2.88 billion people, or 42% of the world’s population, and they occupy 26% of the planet’s land.

In contrast to several other countries which utilized their resources to bolster their application, Morocco did not openly declare its desire to join the BRICS.

In addition, Morocco kept mute after being included to the list of candidates for the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

India and Brazil have declared that they were in favor of new countries entering the BRICS alliance, pointing out that “expanding the economic organization is necessary and important in the current global context.”

A nation must meet certain criteria before it can join the BRICS, including having a gross domestic product of up to $200 billion, receiving the consent of the other five members, having a strong basis for political stability and quick economic growth, and having a favorable geographic location for international trade.

According to political analyst for international affairs Houssain Kannoun, Morocco satisfies the requirements to join this organization “given the growth rates expected by the World Bank, as well as the official figures for the Moroccan economy, in addition to its great centrality in world trade.”

Two very important economic indications that will boost Morocco’s position are the country’s recent removal from the “gray list” and the banking sector’s phenomenal growth.

“Morocco joining the BRICS would bring economic competitiveness by opening up to many global markets, which means a strong increase in Moroccan exports,” political expert Mohammed El Ghouati said.

“Morocco has good relations with BRICS members, which would greatly facilitate the acceptance of its demand,” the political analyst claims.

Read also: Relations between Morocco and ASEAN ‘Closer Than Ever’ (Vietnamese Ambassador)

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