NALEDI PANDOR, the South African Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, said on Monday that 23 countries have expressed an interest in joining the Brics group.

Brics — the initials of founders Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — was set up in 2010 and is now considered the foremost geopolitical grouping, rivalling the G7 bloc, the grouping of leading advanced economies, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States.

Ms Pandor said that the 23 countries keen to join the group are Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.