MOSCOW, Jan 16 (IPS) – With heightening geopolitical interest in building a new Global South architecture, Ghana’s administration is considering joining the ‘partner states category’ of BRICS+, an association of five major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).
The National Democratic Party (NDC) and the elected President John Mahama, while crafting future pathways and renewing commitments over democracy and governance, designing a new economic recovery program as top priority, could initiate discussions to put Ghana on a higher stage by ascending into the BRICS+ platform.
Certainly, ascending unto BRICS+ platform would become a historical landmark for Ghana, which has attained prestigious status in multilateral institutions and organizations such as the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), the United Nations, and also, from Jan. 2025, the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Unlike South Africa, which has acquired full-fledged membership status in 2011, and Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda were taken into the ‘partner states’ category, Ghana has all the fundamental requirements to become part of the BRICS+ alliance.
It is necessary to understand the basic definition and meaning of BRICS+ in the context of the geopolitical changing world. The BRICS alliance operates on the basis of non-interference. As an anti-Western association, it stays open to mutual cooperation from countries with ‘like-minded’ political philosophy.
BRICS members have the freedom to engage their bilateral relations with any external country of their choice. In addition to that, BRICS+ strategic partnership has explicitly shown that it is not a confrontation association, but rather that of cooperation designed to address global challenges and is based on respect for the right of each country to determine its own future.
South Africa and other African countries associated with BRICS+
South Africa is strongly committed to its engagement in the BRICS+. It has, so far, hosted two of its summits. In the future, Egypt and Ethiopia would have the chance to host the BRICS+ summit. Egypt and Ethiopia have excellent relations with members…[truncated for brevity]
