Algiers [Algeria], July 22 (ANI): Algeria has formally applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of the BRICS Bank. The Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, revealed this development during his recent visit to China, where he expressed Algeria’s eagerness to open new economic opportunities and strengthen its partnerships with countries like China, Morocco World News reported. “We officially applied to join the BRICS group, we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank … Algeria‘s first contribution in the bank will be USD 1.5 billion,” An-Nahar Al-Jadid quoted Tebboune as saying.
An-Nahar Al-Jadid newspaper is an independent Algerian daily newspaper.
The BRICS group, which currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, represents a significant portion of the global population and economy, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and approximately 26 per cent of the global economy, Morocco World News reported.
Morocco World News brings the news of Morocco and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the Middle East and Morocco.
Algeria’s bid comes in the midst of what some have called a worldwide eagerness for a geopolitical reconfiguration, with many in the Global South having shown signs of displeasure with the West’s dominance over global affairs.
Amid the ongoing Ukraine war and the surging ideological clash between “the West and the Rest,” more than 40 countries are said to have expressed interest in joining the BRICS group., Morocco World News reported.
But some analysts have warned against the allure of the BRICS group in the global south, arguing that explicitly picking the Russia-China axis is not a strategically sound choice in a context of geopolitical chaos that requires strategic ambiguity, Morocco World News reported.
In September of last year, 27 bipartisan US members of Congress criticized Algeria’s arms imports from Russia and called for the North African country to be sanctioned under the “Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act.”
Similarly, 17 members of the EU Parliament lambasted Algeria in November of last year for politically and financially supporting Russia by being “among the top four buyers of Russian arms in the world.” (ANI)