JABAR EKSPRES – Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar thinks there should be criteria and standards to determine which countries can join the BRICS trade alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.

“We are positive about it, but we certainly believe that there should be some criteria and standards for (BRICS) membership,” Jaishankar said at a press briefing, saying the Indian government is open to expanding BRICS membership by Thursday, August 17, 2023.

According to him, important for BRICS membership expansion is how to ascertain the nature of BRICS and establish certain steps and measures for new membership applications of the alliance.

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“We need some kind of standard, some kind of measuring tool, which can help us in assessing the potential of the applicant country,” he said.

However, according to Jaishankar, BRICS membership expansion has so far not been discussed at the government official level of BRICS countries.

He mentioned that a number of countries have expressed a desire to join BRICS, which this year is chaired by South Africa and will hold a summit on August 22-24 in Johannesburg.

Indian newspapers recently reported that at the BRICS summit, five countries will be accepted as new members of the organization.

They are Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

President Joko Widodo on August 7 said he would decide on the possibility of Indonesia joining the group of emerging economies.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi previously said that President Joko Widodo plans to visit South Africa in the near future, but she was reluctant to confirm whether Jokowi’s visit was made to attend the BRICS Summit.