BRICS, the partnership between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, welcomes six new members: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran.
BRICS, the partnership between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, welcomes six new members. This was announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. South Africa is currently the ASEAN leader. It seemed that “with this summit, the BRICS countries are starting a new chapter.”
Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran will join the coalition from January 1, 2024. Expanding the group is an important item on the agenda of the three-day summit.
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The five have agreed for some time that it is good to expand, but they still disagree on how. “We have prepared a document outlining guidelines, principles and search processes for countries seeking to join BRICS,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said, highlighting the “positive” step forward.
About 40 countries around the world have requested or expressed interest in joining the “Club of Five”. According to the bloc, this shows the growing influence of emerging countries on the international scene.
The current BRICS countries represent about forty percent of the world’s population and want to provide a counterweight to the West and the Group of Seven. This is a collaboration between Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
In addition, they also want to reduce dependence on the US dollar as the global reserve currency. The United States said on Tuesday night that it does not view the BRICS countries as “geopolitical competitors” in the future.
Iran and Ethiopia are pleased
The Iranian representative at the three-day summit in Johannesburg hailed a “strategic foreign policy success,” while Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called it a “powerful moment” for the east African country.
