"Nowhere else do you have such a collective": South African envoy to India Sooklal says BRICS expansion strengthens global influence

By Ayushi Agarwal New Delhi [India], September 7 (ANI): South African High Commissioner to India Anil Sooklal said that the expansion of BRICS has strengthened the grouping's influence by bringing together 'weighty countries' from different regions, allowing them to collectively deliberate on reshaping the emerging global order. In an interview with ANI on the influence of BRICS following its expansion, Sooklal said the grouping expanded during South Africa's chairship in 2023 with the inclusion of new permanent members as well as partner countries. "Well, I think you have, through the expansion process in 2023 under South Africa's chairship, when we brought in new permanent members as well as partner countries, BRICS today is made up of 11 permanent members and 10 partner countries. These are weighty countries from all regions of the world," Sooklal said. He said the expanded grouping demonstrates both the "diversity and solidarity" of BRICS and brings together key countries to deliberate on the future global order. "And this again demonstrates the diversity and solidarity at the same time of the BRICS formation. That you have the critical countries of the world coming together to collectively deliberate on how best we can reshape this emerging global order, a multipolar order," he said. Sooklal said the strength of BRICS lies in its ability to address a broad range of global challenges in an inclusive manner. "And I think that's the strength of BRICS. Nowhere else do you have such a collective that in an inclusive manner addresses the concerns of the world on the political and security front, the financial and economic front, as well as the social and people-to-people, environmental, and climate change challenges that we have," he said. Earlier on Sunday, the official BRICS 2026 X handle highlighted the grouping's expanded composition, stating that BRICS brings together "diverse nations around shared interests and common priorities." In a post on X, it said, "With 11 Member Countries and 10 Partner Countries, the grouping continues to strengthen dialogue, build partnerships and advance cooperation across regions." https://x.com/BricsIndia2026/status/2096576767729475880 The post identified the grouping's key pillars as "Emerging economies", "Shared interests" and "Stronger cooperation". The 11 BRICS member countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia. The 10 partner countries are Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The envoy's remarks come as all eyes are set on India, with New Delhi set to hold the key diplomatic gathering later this week. As BRICS Chair 2026, India will host the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. The Summit will bring together leaders of BRICS Member and Partner Countries as well as Outreach Invitees. India's BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of 'Humanity First'. (ANI)