The growing interest of countries across the world, including in Africa, to join BRICS, a bloc of five emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is based on the market share visible among BRICS member states, according to Dr. Michael Masiapato, PhD, Commissioner of South Africa's Border Management Authority (BMA).
In an exclusive interview with Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa, Masiapato said many countries wanted to be part of the five-nation bloc, which accounts for about 31.5% of the world's GDP, and benefit from the partnership after observing the achievements and advancements made by existing BRICS members.
"There's a lot of interest among many countries to be part of the bloc," the official said. "And I think what they also do, they have been observing what other people have been doing in the BRICS context, and therefore they also want to be partners in terms of that."
The BMA commissioner said that when BRICS expansion happens, it would be good for border management, as it would ensure serious processes not only within the BRICS context but also across the African continent and the world as a whole.
To go on with the new developments, the official highlighted, South Africa has recently moved from a multi-agency approach to an integrated single approach to border management with the creation of the Border Management Authority in 2020, which effectively deals with immigration, health, environment and agriculture issues as one agency at the port.
"So that on its own actually it infuses a multiplicity of operating procedures and creates a single operating procedures and the single command and control. In itself, that actually facilitates us to be able to have better border management for security, but also for better facilitation of trade," Masiapato said.
Dr. Masiapato highlighted the value of sharing technological advancements in border management between South Africa and other BRICS members, such as Russia. According to him, learning from Russia's experiences and best practices in this domain can help South Africa strengthen its own security measures.
The South African official noted that Russia was one of the countries that South Africans visited to understand how border management issues are handeled there, especially the concept of one-stop border post, which allows officials from both countries to co-locate on one side and handle both the exit and entry.
"I think the biggest issue is to be able to share lessons in terms of the kind of technologies that they are using in as far as border management is concerned. And of course, as we share those lessons, we are able to transplant them and be able to implement them within South Africa," he said. "One of the biggest, I would say, in approach is the issue of Russia’s one-stop border post, as an example."
Masiapato said that this approach would reduce the waiting time at the port of entry by half, and ultimately facilitate trade and tourism. He added that South Africa is currently engaging with its neighboring countries to implement this kind of approach.
The 15th BRICS Summit, held in Johannesburg, is closing its doors on Thursday.
Two African states – Egypt and Ethiopia – have been invited to become full members of BRICS starting January 1, 2024, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa stated during the bloc's leaders' speech at a press-conference at the last day of the BRICS summit.
In addition to the two African nations, Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join the bloc early next year. According to the South African president, the admission of the new members is the first phase of the group's expansion process, as more than 20 countries have officially applied to join the bloc.