Bolivian President to attend Brics Summit in South Africa

Luis Arce

LA PAZ, Aug 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Bolivian President Luis Arce will participate in the next Brics Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta confirmed at a press conference.

His presence in the Brics forum in South Africa from August 22 to 24, in compliance with an invitation from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, will put Bolivia back on the global scene, the foreign minister noted.

Mayta added that on June 12, Arce sent a letter to the five leaders of the bloc in which he expressed Bolivia’s willingness to be part of it.

The head of Bolivian diplomacy noted that this is a complex process and the presence of the Plurinational State in the South African forum does not mean an immediate entry.

He added, however, that the request already expressed reflects Bolivia’s desire to actively contribute to spaces of political dialogue in the world, to the new approaches to integration with sovereignty.

The head of Bolivian diplomacy reaffirmed that the strengthening of ties with the Brics reflects the will to diversify links with the whole world.

The Brics account for more than 20 percent of the global gross domestic product and 42 percent of the world’s population.

A possible integration of Bolivia would mean adding the largest lithium reserve on the planet with 23 million tons of the metal, whose demand is growing daily in the midst of the energy transformation that humanity is experiencing.

Other countries that have expressed interest in joining the group are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Türkiye.