BRICS Bloc May Expand as 19 Nations Request Membership, Official Reveals

With only weeks until South Africa hosts the annual two-day summit of BRICS nations in June, one official revealed that many countries requested membership to join the bloc of emerging-market states.
BRICS comprises five countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—with prominent emerging market economies.
Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to the organization, confirmed to Bloomberg on April 24 that 19 nations have expressed interest.
“What will be discussed is the expansion of BRICS and the modalities of how this will happen,” Sooklal. “Thirteen countries have formally asked to join, and another six have asked informally. We are getting applications to join every day.”…}