India pledges full support on BRICS expansion based on consensus

With the BRICS leaders narrowing differences on opening the doors of the bloc for other nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pledged India’s full support to the expansion of the grouping but added that the process should move forward on the basis of consensus among the existing five members.

“India fully supports the expansion of the BRICS membership and welcomes moving forward with consensus on this (issue),” Modi said as he addressed the other BRICS leaders in the plenary session of the bloc’s 15th summit at Johannesburg in South Africa.

The prime minister’s comment extending support to the BRICS expansion process was lauded by the host of the summit and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, who of late spoke in favour of admitting new members to the bloc.

“We stand at the cusp of expanding the BRICS family,” Ramaphosa said, expressing hope that the bloc would find a “clear solution” on the issue by the time the summit would conclude on Thursday.

President Xi Jinping of China stressed on speeding up the expansion of the bloc. He said that expanding the BRICS would help make global governance more just and equitable.

The expansion of the BRICS, which now comprises Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, is one of the issues on the agenda of the summit. At least 23 nations have submitted applications seeking membership in the bloc, while 17 others have expressed interest to join it. The countries aspiring to get a berth on the BRICS include Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Cuba, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

With the geopolitical tension triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalating tension between the former Soviet Union nations and the western nations, Moscow over the past few months supported Beijing’s push for admitting new members and expanding the BRICS, apparently to turn it into a counterweight to the G7 and a challenger to the United States and the European Union, particularly on global economic issues. New Delhi has been resisting the bid, stressing that the bloc should first frame rules to expand the bloc and set criteria for admitting new members.

India has been reluctant to speed up the expansion of the BRICS as such a move could further complicate its strategic balancing between its decades-old strategic partnership with Russia and its expanding ties with the United States and the rest of the West.

The BRICS leaders discussed the issue of expanding the bloc during a retreat in Johannesburg on Tuesday. A source said that retreat saw significant development on BRICS expansion during the retreat with the prime minister taking the lead in forging consensus on membership criteria and selection of new members. India’s efforts were guided by its objective to incorporate its strategic partners as new members of the BRICS, added the source.