South Africa: 22 countries have requested to join the BRICS group

South Africa announced on Thursday that 22 countries from around the world have applied for membership in the BRICS group, while other countries have also shown interest in joining.

South Africa currently heads the BRICS group (South Africa, Brazil, China, India, and Russia) and will host the 15th summit of these emerging nations from the 22nd to the 24th of August. BRICS has previously indicated its openness to expansion.