Lula voices support for more countries joining BRICS

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said that he supports more countries joining the BRICS group of large developing nations, which currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The group will hold a summit in Johannesburg from Aug. 22 to 24. The meeting will have in hand a list of others desiring to join ther group.

"Possibly, in this meeting, we can already consensually decide which new countries can join BRICS," Lula told international journalists in Brasilia.

"I am of the opinion that as many countries want to enter, if they are in compliance with the rules we are establishing, we will accept the countries' entrance."

Around 20 countries have formally applied to join the bloc, Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira said after Lula's session with journalists. Among them are Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran and Venezuela, he said.

The summit in Johannesburg will occur as China and Russia, facing isolation by the U.S. and European Union, seek to expand their economic influence in developing countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the summit via video call, while all other heads of state are expected to attend in person.

Since taking office, Lula has repeatedly bucked the existing Wester-dominated international structure.

He has called for an end to the dominance of the U.S. dollar in international trade and supported a common currency for commerce within the South American bloc Mercosur and for trade among BRICS nations. 

He went on to hail the prospects of the Chinese-backed New Development Bank, commonly known as the BRICS bank, which is funding infrastructure projects in Brazil and elsewhere in the developing world.

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