Ghana Cabinet clears BRICS bid as Jaishankar visits Accra

New Delhi: Ghana's cabinet has approved the country's bid to join BRICS, foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Tuesday, coinciding with external affairs minister S Jaishankar's visit to Accra.

Ablakwa announced the decision at a joint press briefing with Jaishankar, saying he was disclosing it "to the Ghanaian people for the first time". President John Dramani Mahama's cabinet "has decided that Ghana will be joining BRICS".

Ghana is one of Africa's politically and economically stable countries and among India's oldest partners in the continent. Jaishankar said India has "always been very sympathetic and supportive of Ghana's aspirations and goals", but pointed out that the BRICS bid is "an issue of collective consideration" for the bloc.