By John Ikani
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has suggested that his country, Africa’s largest natural gas exporter, could join the BRICS economic group.
The BRICS group includes the countries with the fastest growth rates in the world, which are China, Russia, Brazil, India, and South Africa.
BRICS members currently account for nearly a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.
Tebboune’s comment comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin — whose country is hit with Western sanctions over its Ukraine invasion — in June called on BRICS leaders to move towards “formation of a truly multipolar system of inter-government relations”.
“Algeria has almost all conditions for admission to BRICS and it is strongly interested in joining this alliance,” the President said in a press statement.
Joining BRICS has economic and political power and will enable Algeria to avoid participation in “bipolar conflicts,” Tebboune added.
It is worthwhile to note that Tebboune participated in a BRICS virtual summit at the end of June, when Putin called on leaders of the group to cooperate in the face of “selfish actions” from the West.
Sanctions over Ukraine have pushed Putin to seek new markets and strengthen ties with countries in Africa and Asia.
Algiers abstained when the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution in March demanding Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine.
China, India and South Africa also abstained.
On a visit to Algeria in May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said trade between his country and Algeria had reached $3 billion last year.
