China, Russia and South Africa have called for expanding the ranks of BRICS membership as the group’s summit is underway in Johannesburg, South Africa. BRICS currently is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but a number of countries from the Global South have expressed interest in joining, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran, Argentina and Egypt. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the summit Tuesday.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “I have been defending the idea of adopting a common trade currency for trade that won’t replace our national currencies. … We’ve already overtaken the G7 and are responsible for 32% of the world’s GDP in purchasing power parity terms. Projections indicate that emerging developing markets are the ones that will show the highest rate of growth in the coming years.”