Iran asks SA for support in accelerating its bid to join the BRICS bloc of countries

IRAN has asked South Africa for support in accelerating its bid to join the BRICS bloc of countries ahead of the crucial 15th Summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) to be held in Johannesburg in a fortnight.

This was revealed on Thursday at the beginning of the 15th Session of the South Africa-Iran Joint Commission of Co-operation (JCC) between Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor and Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of 23 countries that have made formal expressions of interest in joining BRICS, and has been officially invited to attend the three-day summit.

This shows South Africa’s diplomacy and foreign policy increasingly leaning towards the eastern countries such as China and Russia when the US and Western European countries would like to see South Africa condemn Russia for invading Ukraine.

An Iranian team consisting of deputies and the private sector has been in South Africa since Monday to finalise issues concerning co-operation between the two countries as well as preparing documents for an upcoming visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to South Africa.

Amir-Abdollahian expressed his thanks for the invitation to the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogues ahead of the summit.

He said that Tehran had hosted a conference this week with the representatives of BRICS founding members such as South Africa at which talks were held at the diplomatic and academic levels.

“Given the presence from South Africa at the Tehran conference, we consider it as a positive measure to develop relations with the BRICS member states,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

“We hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran will obtain the opportunity of accelerated membership in BRICS under the strong support we hope to receive from the government of South Africa and other members.”

Over the years, bilateral relations between South Africa and Iran have broadened significantly, resulting in the creation of several sub-committees based on the areas of co-operation and the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding.

On Thursday both parties agreed to facilitate the signing of government-to-government MOUs on a Joint Economic Roadmap (2023–2028) with working groups in trade and investment, mining and technical and engineering services, in a bid to facilitate trade, investment and economic co-operation.

Though Pandor did not indicate whether South Africa would support Iran’s application for BRICS membership, she said South Africa and Iran enjoyed an historical and fraternal relationship, with both countries interacting regularly.

Pandor said the JCC, which was established in 1995, was the longest running and one of the most active structured bilateral mechanisms South Africa had with any country in the Middle East.

“You come from a country with which we enjoy very strong and positive relations. We’ve had very extensive discussions on international and global issues that are impacting our world today,” she said.

“I’m hopeful that what we are going to do and receive is going to encourage us to get a sense that indeed there is a work programme between South Africa and the Islamic Republic, and that we are making progress in our relationship.”

This comes as the South African government assured the public on Thursday that it was all systems go in terms of the country’s readiness to host the 15th BRICS Summit.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that although Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would not attend the summit in person, he had held a bilateral meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa during the Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg last month and discussed opportunities to increase trade between the two countries, and for the Russian Federation to increase investments in South Africa.

Ntshavheni also said South Africa valued its relationship with the People’s Republic of China, and this was symbolised by the extent of trade between the two countries.

“So during the (state) visit of President Xi Jinping, we are expecting to deepen relations in terms of trade, the people-to-people relationships as well,” Ntshavheni said.

“But during that visit President Xi will also meet African leaders in a round table as part of strengthening not only the relationship with South Africa but also the relationship with the continent of Africa.”

BUSINESS REPORT