BRICS banner lifted for the fifth BRICS Summit at the Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. The group unveiled its Johannesburg Declaration II on Thursday, August 24, 2023, after concluding the 15th BRICS summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current BRICS chairperson, told journalists at a media briefing in Johannesburg that six new countries will join the BRICS. "South Africa being from Southern Africa, they [BRICS] have added Ethiopia from East Africa and Egypt from North Africa," Chitanga noted, adding that the decision intends to project the broader representation of African interests inclusively. BRICS ministers of finance and central bank governors have been tasked to go and deliberate on the use and strengthening of local currencies and payment systems and report back at the next BRICS summit.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 26, 2023 15:36 UTC