President Salva Kiir left Juba on Tuesday for South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit which seeks to discuss economic revival and ways to counter Western dominance in global affairs.

BRICS leaders are meeting in the city of Johannesburg starting August 22, to discuss political and economic cooperation.

South Sudan’s Minister of Presidential Affairs Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the meeting will focus on consolidating political and economic influence in the developing world, marking a crucial moment in international diplomacy.

“President Kiir has been officially invited to participate in the meeting, which discusses crucial economic matters in the global South”, Marial said, according to the Office of the President.

BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and the leaders will in this meeting discuss the proposed expansion of the bloc.

Representing 40 percent of the world’s population across three continents, with economies at different levels of growth, the BRICS share a common desire for a global order they see as better reflecting their interests and rising clout.

The theme of its 15th summit is “BRICS and Africa” and comes as the continent emerges as a renewed diplomatic battleground with the United States, Russia and China jostling for economic and diplomatic influence.