All heads of state from Africa's constituent countries have been invited to the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, according to Anil Sooklal, South Africa's representative, or "sherpa", to BRICS who was addressing the press about the third Extraordinary BRICS Sherpas conference that has taken place in uMhlanga, South Africa.
The group met to discuss summit preparations as well as the requirements for new members as the five-nation organization of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa seeks to grow.
According to Sooklal, the BRICS summit will consider how the alliance can collaborate with African nations to promote development and economic expansion on the continent.
"[South African] President [Cyril] Ramaphosa has decided to invite all African leaders as part of the BRICS outreach so we have extended an invitation to all African leaders to come and have talks with BRICS leaders. As you know, as part of chairmanship this year we have an Africa focus and that is why our theme has emphasized this partnership with Africa and our theme speaks to that partnership between BRICS and Africa for mutual accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism," he said.
According to reports, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has also invited the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, to the BRICS+ meeting in Johannesburg.
This was revealed by South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, when she was talking to her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian over the phone, Iranian media reported.
Several African nations, notably Algeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia, have already submitted formal BRICS membership applications. In total, some 30 countries are interested in the group's work, as Sooklal pointed out earlier.
Their motivations vary widely; some seek economic growth, and others take a more political stance in an effort to hasten the establishment of a multipolar world, as Cham Ugala Uriat, Ethiopia's ambassador to Russia, recently explained to Sputnik.