5 new countries, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia have officially joined BRICS on 1 January 2024, as per reports. The membership initiation process started in August 2023 in South Africa and was formalized on Monday and the 5 new nations were welcomed into the bloc has Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as initial members.
At the South Africa BRICS summit in August this year, invitations were extended to some nations and some nations had expressed interest in joining the group of emerging powerful economies. The Johannesburg summit had formally invited these 5 nations to join, as per reports, registering their economic potential and geostrategic positions.
It is notable here that in the Johannesburg summit, Argentina was also invited to join, as Argentina’s former government had expressed an interest in making the country a BRICS member. However, Javier Milei, the new President of Argentina, had decided to withdraw the BRICS application. Milei’s policies are more USA-centric.
It is notable here that with the beginning of 2024, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has taken over the rotating leadership of BRICS. this year. The next BRICS summit is going to be held in Kazan, Russia in October 2024, and Russia has planned to host over 200 economic, social and political events around it.
The BRICS leaders have been assertive about the fact that the world is becoming multipolar, and a growing number of nations are seeking alternatives to the current order where the West, led by the USA, seeks dominance.
Speaking in the Johannesburg summit in August, PM Modi stated that with the inclusion of the new members, BRICS will be able to infuse new momentum and new energy into the bloc’s cooperation. He noted that India has had very deep and historic relations with the new BRICS members, adding that new dimensions will be also added to the bilateral cooperation.
Together the BRICS nations account for 42% of the global population, more than 3 billion people. They account for over 26% of the global economy and have a combined GDP of over 23 trillion USD. The BRICS nations control over 30% of the world’s territory and 18% of global trade.
With Saudi Arabia and UAE as members, the BRICS now includes the largest and strongest economies of the Arab world in its sphere.
It is notable here that over 40 nations had applied to join BRICS this year. A detailed explainer of the group’s founding, goals, and strategies in the current geopolitical scenario can be read here.
