African countries see BRICS as a platform for achieving real sovereignty in the economic, financial and technological fields, Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute of African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), told Sputnik.
"African countries see BRICS as an alternative platform and an opportunity to develop independently of the West, which continues to use colonial methods in its relations with the continent's countries," she said on the sidelines of the BRICS Academic Forum 2024, stressing that it is an alternative "in every sense: economic, financial, and, most importantly, technological."
"Africa sees BRICS as a platform to achieve real, not formal, sovereignty," she added.
Today, three of the 10 BRICS member states already represent Africa – South Africa, as well as Egypt and Ethiopia, which joined the bloc on January 1 this year, Abramova noted.
"Several other countries on the continent want to join [BRICS], including Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and Algeria," she highlighted.
On January 1, Russia took over the presidency of BRICS for the coming year. It began with the accession of new members to the organization – in addition to Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, it now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
With the addition of the new members, BRICS has grown to 10 countries with a population of 3.6 billion – almost half the world's population. These countries account for more than 40% of global oil production and about a quarter of global merchandise exports.