Ghana will join BRICS initially as a partner country as the government seeks to protect its national interest and widen the country’s economic and diplomatic options, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said.
“We are being strategic. We are looking at our national interest,” he said on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday October 10.
Ablakwa said Cabinet had decided that Ghana should begin its involvement with the bloc as a partner before potentially moving towards full membership.
“We want to start as a partner country, and then we will gradually progress into full membership as the situation evolves,” he said.
He described the decision as part of the government’s plan to diversify Ghana’s international partnerships and strengthen its links with countries in the Global South.
“The major highlight, which I am disclosing to the Ghanaian people for the first time, is that the Cabinet of President John Dramani Mahama has decided that Ghana will be joining BRICS,” he said.
The minister said participation in the grouping of major emerging economies could give Ghana alternative economic and diplomatic relationships, while creating wider opportunities for South-South cooperation.
“We believe that joining India in BRICS will give us economic options, will diversify our base and our partnerships, and will also allow us to have more cooperation within the Global South framework, as far as South-South engagements are concerned,” he added.
The announcement signals Ghana’s intention to deepen its engagement with emerging economies as the government works to broaden the country’s international economic partnerships.
Ghana-India cooperation
Ablakwa also outlined plans for Ghana and India to increase cooperation in railway development, pharmaceuticals, ICT, defence, agriculture, science and technology.
He said the two countries had signed two Memoranda of Understanding covering agriculture and science and technology. The agreements form part of efforts to strengthen their comprehensive partnership.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation and geopolitical coalition made up of 11 core member nations: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The bloc also includes 10 partner countries and represents roughly 49.5% of the global population and 40% of world GDP.
It operates as an informal economic grouping intended to amplify the voice of the Global South and provide a counterbalance to Western-dominated institutions.
