Morocco wants to safeguard economy with BRICS membership, analyst tells RT

The Western world has marginalized many third-world countries, says Amine Ayoub

Morocco’s bid to join BRICS is driven by the desire to protect its economy amid the neglect of many third-world nations by Western powers, particularly the US, economic and policy analyst Amine Ayoub has said. 

In an interview with RT on Thursday, Ayoub explained that Rabat is actively seeking new partners due to shifts in priorities by its former Western economic allies, which retracted investments in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Morocco is the latest country to formally apply to become a member of BRICS, which is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.  

South Africa’s ambassador-at-large to BRICS and Asia, Anil Sooklal, previously put the number of countries interested in joining the group at more than 40. The bloc is currently fielding official applications from 23 other countries across the non-Western world, including Egypt, Bangladesh, and Iran. 

Moroccan policy analyst Ayoub told RT that these nations are turning to BRICS for economic reasons and because the “Western world, especially the US, is not giving voice to many of these third-world countries.” 

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Rabat, he says, is “open to using other currencies” and joining BRICS will be favorable to its future.  

The bloc has floated the idea of creating a common currency for intra-member trade, which officials say will be discussed at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on August 22–24. 

Meanwhile, Ghali Zbeir, president of the Saharawi Oil and Mineral Authority, told RT that Morocco’s “sudden bid to join BRICS appears strange,” considering it has been seen as an ally of the US, France, and Israel. 

“A new world order is being shaped before our very eyes,” Zbeir stated. He added that “the old world order which followed the interests of Western countries is no longer valid,” and that BRICS is “the hope for the creation of a more just world order.”  

Referring to the Morocco-Western Sahara territorial dispute, Zbeir insisted that Rabat’s admission to the BRICS group must not undermine Laayoune’s right to self-determination. 

“The issue with Western Sahara pertains to decolonization,” he said. 

Western Sahara, named by the UN in 1975, was the last African colony to achieve independence, with Morocco considering it an integral part of its territory.