For these reasons… Algeria finally turns the page on “BRICS”

The issue of Algeria’s accession to the “BRICS” group is no longer a priority for the Algerian authorities, despite its accession to the bank affiliated with this group, which was included in the editorial of the daily “El Moudjahid” published on Saturday, September 28.
The newspaper wrote in its editorial, asking: “What is the truth in the idea that the BRICS member states have once again asked Algeria to join them?” It answers, written by its publication director Ibrahim Takhroubt: “At the present time, Algeria is quietly watching the process, but it is indifferent, or even surprised by this approach, because the BRICS membership file is closed for the Algerian authorities.”

“El Moudjahid” adds, confirming: “Algeria has finally turned the page, even if it is a member of the BRICS bank,” based on a government source quoted by the editorial writer. As for the reasons that prompted Algeria to turn its back on this bloc, they are “simple and logical.”
The newspaper added: “When the Johannesburg summit concluded in August 2023 with the addition of six new members (Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran), no reasonable argument was presented at all to justify the non-acceptance of Algeria’s file.”
The editorial writer believes that “there is a blatant contradiction, both in content and in form. This organization, which aims to challenge the established global order represented by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, should operate according to a more comprehensive approach. However, it adopts an absurd logic in its selection, which limits its impact and scope. Instead of casting a wide net and offering global solutions, it is content with a restrictive approach.
Doesn’t this contradiction undermine its credibility? How can we not question its true intentions when we know that Algeria is much better off than many of the countries that joined the organization at this famous summit?”
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had previously confirmed in a meeting with the national press that Algeria would not request to join the BRICS group again, which means that the editorial of the government daily El Moudjahid came to respond to some parties trying to drag Algeria back into the race to join this organization, especially after BRICS announced the acceptance of Algeria as a member of the group’s bank recently.
The reason for Algeria’s decision not to submit a new file to join the group is due to the ambiguity of the decisions taken by BRICS, most notably the decision of the Johannesburg Summit in South Africa to accept the files of countries and reject others, including the Algerian file, a decision that shocked Algerians, not because of the rejection but because of the strangeness of the justifications that were put forward, which even their owners were not convinced by them.
This is confirmed by what was included in the editorial of “El Moudjahid”, which listed the cards that Algeria has in its possession compared to other countries that competed for membership in “BRICS”, where it wrote: “A country that does not suffer from external debt, has the largest area in Africa, and is full of large mineral and energy resources. Algeria has an infrastructure that is envied throughout the continent.”
What is most surprising is that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which are generally stingy with compliments, have publicly praised Algeria’s economic performance, going so far as to make it a “model of success.” For the first time, Algeria refers to the parties that stood in the way of Algeria’s accession, but without naming them: “The truth is that one of the BRICS member states… used its veto against it with almost theatrical insistence, thus preventing Algeria from joining.
Above all, this country is not acting out of conviction, but rather under orders from a modest Gulf emirate.” The reference here, in the opinion of many observers, is to India and the United Arab Emirates, whose relations with Algeria are witnessing severe tension.