Algeria’s Accession to the BRICS Moves in the Right Direction

Algeria’s accession to the economic group “BRICS” has become open, with the successive announcement of countries welcoming the effort to join it, with other active countries in the group emphasizing the need to “expand” this space.

In this regard, the South African ambassador to Russia, Mzuvukile Jeff Maqetuka, revealed in an interview with RIA Novosti that about 13 countries have expressed interest in joining the “BRICS” group, adding that several countries have already submitted official applications to join the group and six others are still considering such a possibility.

Maqetuka believes that priority will be given to the countries that have already applied, explaining that two African countries, Algeria and Egypt, were among the candidates to join, in addition to Iran, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE representing Asia.

According to the ambassador, all BRICS member states welcome expansion, but it is necessary to define ways to accept new members, pointing out that the issue of BRICS expansion is on the agenda and all BRICS countries which want to widen partnerships and cooperation between countries.

Pretoria linked the priority of the countries that will be members of the BRICS to submitting the file, and this condition was exceeded by Algeria, as it submitted the request officially, and last November, the special envoy in charge of major projects at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “Algeria submitted an official request to join the BRICS group that includes the most prominent emerging economies which are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa”.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry’s official stated that Russia and China welcomed Algeria’s accession and that South Africa, Brazil and India are currently studying the accession file before deciding on it.

Previously, the Russian ambassador to Algeria, Valerian Shuvaev, said in an interview with Echorouk that the submission of the Algerian request to the “BRICS” group is a long-term story, adding that “it is no secret that it was presented through a letter from the President of the Algerian Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.

“We do not notice any problems concerning submitting the official Algerian request, yet there are other BRICS member states and they have to agree on procedural, administrative and legal frameworks for the inclusion of new members in the group, and consultations in this regard are now underway,” the Russian diplomat explained.

Another positive opinion was expressed by China, which is a strategic partner of Algeria, as the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced, on September 2022, that his country welcomes Algeria to join the BRICS group, days after the Russian welcome. He added that Algeria is a “large emerging country” and “a representative of emerging economies.”

Although India did not express a clear position on Algeria’s accession, it nevertheless expressed a desire to expand this space, as stated by its ambassador to Algeria, Gaurav Ahluwalia, who previously told Echorouk: “We have already received Algeria’s request to join the BRICS. India supported the discussion among the BRICS members on the enlargement process, at the same time, we also emphasized that the BRICS countries need to clarify the guidelines, criteria and procedures based on full consultation and consensus for the enlargement process and the stage we are discussing the nominations has not yet reached, these will be considered in an appropriate stage based on an agreement between the BRICS member states.”

It appears, through preliminary data, that Algeria’s accession is a matter of time as a result of the position of the national economy, and political and strategic considerations with the majority of member states, which made president Tebboune say; “We hope that the year 2023 will be crowned with Algeria’s accession into the BRICS group,” adding “we have Russia’s approval with China and South Africa, and the new president of Brazil will agree to Algeria’s accession to the BRICS.”