South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has announced that South Africa has invited 67 leaders from the global south to attend the next summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies, from August 22 to 24..

"[President Cyril] Ramaphosa has invited, with the consensus support of his counterparts from the BRICS countries, 67 leaders from Africa and the global south," said Pandor, during a press video conference on the preparations for the summit. "The invited leaders come from all continents and regions of the global south," he added, noting that so far 34 have confirmed their attendance.

According to the minister, quoted by Lusa, Ramaphosa also invited 20 "dignitaries", including the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, and the president of the African Union Commission (secretariat), Moussa Faki Mahamat.

The presidents of Brazil, India, China and South Africa will attend the summit, while Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. BRICS is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, has not been invited, confirmed Pandor, although the Gaul expressed an interest in attending the summit in June.

It's worth remembering that South Africa was in the spotlight after it confirmed its invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin last March, despite the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.

However, Ramaphosa announced last month that his Russian counterpart would attend the meetings virtually, without traveling to the country. South Africa says it has adopted a neutral position on Russia's war against Ukraine and has called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict.

This position is not only linked to Moscow's strategic, political and economic role in some African countries, but also to historical reasons, such as Russia's support for anti-colonial and liberation movements in the 20th century and the fight against the segregationist apartheid regime.