Pretoria Wanted the World to Believe that Leading African Countries like Morocco Applied for BRICS Membership – Academic

South Africa, by claiming that Morocco has submitted a bid to join the “BRICS”, in the absence of an official confirmation from Rabat, wanted to make the world to believe that leading countries in the continent, like the Kingdom, were applying to join this grouping, stressed academic Mohamed El Ghouati. Commenting on the statements of an authorized source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, who said that there had never been any question of Morocco taking part in the “BRICS/Africa” meeting at any level whatsoever, El Ghouati said that “it was clear from the outset that the statements made by certain South African officials on this subject lacked precision, having considered that Morocco had asked to join the BRICS grouping, in the absence of any official confirmation from the Moroccan government.” The academic, a professor of public law and political science at the Faculty of Law in Salé, pointed out that “South Africa, known for its hostility to the Kingdom’s territorial integrity, cares little for Morocco’s interests and aims only to make the international community believe that leading countries on the African continent, such as Morocco, have asked to join this economic grouping”. He also noted that the position expressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates clearly reaffirmed the depth of the relations linking Morocco to the four other BRICS member countries, pointing out that these are historic relations based on mutual respect. This crude maneuver by South Africa “cannot hinder the ambition of Morocco and these countries to develop these relations and take them to new horizons, said El Ghouati. South Africa’s actions are detrimental first and foremost to those responsible for the current political management in that state, and constitute an ungrateful attitude on the part of Pretoria towards Morocco, which lent its support to that country during the struggle against apartheid, he pointed out, recalling that South Africa had “shown no hostility towards Morocco” during the era of Nelson Mandela. 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, says 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 stresses that this was not a BRICS or African Union initiative, but an invitation from South Africa, in its national capacity.