JOHANNESBURG: BRICS leaders announced on Thursday (Aug 24) the admission of six new countries from next year as the club of large and populous emerging economies seeks to reshape the global order.
The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – agreed at their annual summit to make Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates full members from Jan 1 next year.
The announcement was made at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country is the current BRICS chair.
“This membership expansion is historic,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose nation is the most powerful in the group of non-Western states that represents a quarter of the world’s economy and 40 per cent of its population.
“The expansion is also a new starting point for BRICS cooperation. It will bring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further strengthen the force for world peace and development.”
This is the second time that BRICS has decided to expand. The bloc was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed what he called “a great moment” for his country.
“Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In Iran, senior presidential adviser Mohammad Jamshidi described the move as a “historic development and a strategic success” for Tehran’s foreign policy.
Source: CNA
