South Africa Seeks to Instrumentalize ‘BRICS/Africa’ Meeting for its Own Interests – Pundit

South Africa is seeking to instrumentalize the “BRICS/Africa” meeting, scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg, for political ends serving its own interests, stressed university professor and President of the Moroccan Center for Strategic Studies, Mohamed Benhammou. South Africa is seeking to instrumentalize the “BRICS/Africa” meeting and distort this multilateral working platform for political ends serving its own interests and internal affairs, Benhammou told MAP, noting that this intention is clear from the invitations it has sent out and the entities it wants to involve in the meeting. The words of the authorized source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates put an end to a whole series of speculations about the Kingdom’s hypothetical bid to join the “BRICS” grouping, as well as its possible participation in the next “BRICS/Africa” meeting. “Morocco enjoys very good relations with the member countries of the BRICS grouping, but ties are not so good with South Africa,” observed Benhammou. It’s a relationship that is marked by a “sickly and primal hostility” on the part of South Africa towards Morocco, which translates into negative positions that have nothing to do with reality and the law, he said. South Africa is once again confirming the absurdity of an action it has never ceased to pursue, and a blindness that will end up damaging a grouping such as the BRICS, he pointed out, noting that South Africa is playing a perilous game that would not be without consequences for its relations with several countries. As everyone can see, South Africa’s position is far from reason and from being in a positive and responsible action, added Benhammou, noting that this meeting, which emanates from a unilateral initiative of the South African government, is being held in a very well-known context. For the Kingdom of Morocco, there has never been any question of responding positively to the invitation to the “BRICS/Africa” meeting scheduled to take place in South Africa, or of taking part in this meeting at any level whatsoever, said an authorized source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates. In response to recent media reports referring to a hypothetical bid by the Kingdom to join the “BRICS” group, as well as its possible participation in the next “BRICS/Africa” meeting, scheduled for August 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same source stressed that this was not a BRICS or African Union initiative, but an invitation from South Africa, in its national capacity.