Courtesy of RANE Worldview, a report on growing interest amongst countries to join BRICS:

What Happened: South Africa’s ambassador to BRICS (the informal bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) said 19 countries had expressed an interest in joining the bloc, which will meet in Cape Town on June 2-3 to discuss enlargement, Bloomberg reported on April 24.

Why It Matters: Saudi Arabia and other powerful oil-producing Gulf Cooperation Council states, as well as large countries like Egypt and Indonesia, seem the most likely to join BRICS quickly. This enlargement would increase the bloc’s wealth and perhaps enable it to fund and invest in more projects, potentially increasing its ability to function as a counterweight to Western institutions. However, the countries participating in BRICS, especially if it is enlarged, have wildly divergent interests from each other, which will impede the bloc’s ability to focus on common goals. Additionally, GCC countries’ desire to join BRICS does not necessarily mean that they are abandoning their defense and military relationships with the United States and the West.

Background: China pressed BRICS countries to discuss enlargement and consider new applicants in 2022 when it chaired the bloc. Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are all known to be interested in joining BRICS.