Nigeria called on South Africa to support joining BRICS and becoming a member of the G20.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu said on Monday that Nigeria has called on South Africa to support joining BRICS and becoming a member of the G20.
“I would like to mention that Nigeria is seeking South Africa's support in gaining full membership in the G20,” he said after the 11th South Africa-Nigeria Bilateral Commission ministerial meeting in Cape Town.
“We also need South Africa's support to play a leading role in discussions on topics of interest to Nigeria under South Africa's leadership in the G20.
“We are also talking about South Africa's full support of the Brics member states and their new financial institution, the New Development Bank.”
Last year, Nigeria announced its ambition to join BRICS within two years.
It was one of the 13 countries invited as BRICS partner countries at the bloc's summit held in Russia in October. The others are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
The summit was attended by representatives of 36 countries, and capitalized on the expressed desire of several countries to become full members, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the face of Western isolation over the Ukraine war, It was used to show a rebellious attitude.
South Africa has resisted this interpretation of BRICS and is reluctant to further expand the group, which expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates earlier this year. BRICS founding members Brazil and India are similarly hesitant.
International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola on Monday downplayed US President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they create a new currency to rival the dollar.
Ramola stressed that South Africa sees Brics as a platform for development and has never supported a “de-dollarization” project, but recognizes the benefits of Brics partners trading in their own currency.
South Africa is expected to work closely with the US during its G20 Presidency, which took office on Sunday, as the US is part of the current G20 troika.
South Africa will use its G20 Presidency to lobby powerful member states to support Africa's request for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Mr Lamola acknowledged that Nigeria is invited to actively participate in workstreams and conferences throughout the year.
Senior officials and diplomats at a meeting on Monday said there was a major shift in relations between Abuja and Pretoria after years of tension and regional rivalry.
The bilateral commission drafted a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in crime, defense and mining, but Lamola and Odumegwu Ojukwu are understood to have spent much of their time discussing Sudan's 17-month civil war. has been done.
He said Nigeria was seeking South Africa's cooperation in bringing the parties to the conflict to the negotiating table.
“We need South Africa's support in mediation, the AU's Special Mediation Commission on Sudan. [African Union]Our President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is also a member,” she said.
“We are strongly determined to seek a resolution to the Sudanese crisis, and in this context seek South Africa's support to further accelerate the peace process and ensure a quelling of the conflict in the region.”
Mr Tinubu is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town, with Sudan expected to be a key topic of discussion.
Peace efforts have so far failed to lead to progress toward a ceasefire. Nigerian officials said privately on Monday that a concerted African-led effort is needed to end the conflict, which has displaced 10 million people and poses a risk of lasting instability in the region. .
