Algeria is considering BRICS membership

The BRICS countries, named after their founding members, currently make up around forty percent of the world's population. The accession of two other countries - Iran and Argentina - is already known.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has reportedly said his country is interested in joining the BRICS and is on the verge of qualifying for membership of the group.

Algeria already largely meets the conditions for joining the BRICS, Tebboune said in an interview with a state television station on Sunday. The group of states is named after its founding members - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - and will consider including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt at its summit next year.

This year's BRICS summit, held online in June, has been expanded to include the participation of 13 more countries, including Algeria. Tebboune was the first guest to give a speech in which he called for a new economic order in which equality and justice will prevail between countries. The Algerian leader added:

    "Our past experiences have shown us that the imbalance on the international stage and the marginalization of emerging countries in international fora are sources of instability, lack of equality and lack of development."

The BRICS countries already represent more than 40 percent of the world's population. The bloc's stated goals are to promote peace, security, development, global cooperation and the development of humanity as a whole. Iran and Argentina formally applied to join the BRICS group in June.

Russia, China and other BRICS members are reportedly developing a new global reserve currency that could undermine the US dollar's supremacy.

In the same television interview, Tebboune explained that Algeria, as a former French colony, will start teaching English in primary schools this year. "French is a spoil of war," he said, "but English is an international language."