Algeria applies to join BRICS, would contribute $1.5 bln to group bank

Algeria has applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of BRICS Bank with an amount of $1.5 billion, Ennahar TV quoted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying.

It added that Tebboune said at the end of his visit to China that Algeria had sought to join the BRICS to open new economic opportunities.

The North African country is rich in oil and gas resources and seeking to diversify its economy and strengthen its partnership with countries such as China.

The BRICS group of nations comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It accounts for more than 40 percent of the world's population and about 26 percent of the global economy.

"We officially applied to join the BRICS group, we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank ... Algeria's first contribution in the bank will be $1.5 billion," Ennahar quoted Tebboune as saying.

More than 40 countries have expressed interested in joining the BRICS group of nations, South Africa's top diplomat in charge of relations with the bloc said this week.

Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan are among countries that expressed interest.

China will invest $36 billion in Algeria across sectors including manufacturing, new technology, the knowledge economy, transport, and agriculture, local media quoted Tebboune as saying this week. 

(Reuters)