Argentinian President Alberto Fernández Requests Argentina be Admitted as a Full Member of the BRICS Group

President Alberto Fernández has requested that Argentina be admitted as a full member of BRICS as he participated in the BRICS group’s 14th summit via videoconference on Friday, June 24th.

President Fernández used the platform to demand reforms in regards to the way the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are distributed, saying Argentina wants to participate in discussions on an “agenda for the future.”

“The invitation to this larger BRICS gathering is an honor for us. We hope to become full members of this group of countries in its entirety, which currently accounts for 24 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and 42 percent of the world’s population,” the president stated.

Over 40% of the world’s population and nearly 25% of the global gross domestic product are represented by the BRICS members, which are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

During the virtual summit, Argentina’s head of state said that the group “constitutes a platform with enormous capacities to discuss and implement an agenda for the future that will lead to a better and fairer time.”

The president insisted, “Argentina wants to join this space and offer its contributions as a member of it.” 

Besides the countries that give the BRICS alliance its name, other nations present at the meeting included Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Senegal, Fiji, Malaysia, and Thailand.

More insights on President Alberto Fernández’s request…

President Fernández requested that participants “agree on a common agenda” so that this group of nations could communicate their concerns “more effectively at the next G20 conference,” scheduled to take place in Indonesia in November 2022.

“The expansion of [the bloc’s] New Development Bank,” he added, “can be a useful instrument to strengthen and equip national infrastructures.” He also emphasized that “the institutional and economic weight of the BRICS can become a source of financial stability.”

The president continued, “It is time to explore cooperation mechanisms, such as the currency swap that Argentina signed with China. It is time to promote the creation of an International Risk Rating Agency, which would put in public hands what today is in the hands of private interests.”

The BRICS countries urged new negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in a statement released at the conclusion of the two-day summit, which was held against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged and encouraged the leaders of the BRICS nations to cooperate and work together in order to counteract the West’s “selfish actions” and pursue a “real multipolar system of intergovernmental relations.”

President Fernández addressed the conflict, stating that it is “imperative that the hostilities in Ukraine cease.”

The Argentine leader stated, “We want to be part of the search for a solution that brings all those involved closer together, In order to achieve a lasting peace that definitively leaves behind the dynamics unleashed by the escalation of the war.”