The five BRICS developing nations have rejected Nigeria’s application to join, announcing it will admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates, a move aimed at growing the strength of the bloc as it pushes to rebalance the world order dominated by the US and western countries.
The expansion announced on Thursday, August 24, could also pave the way for other countries to seek admission.
BRICS – whose acronym was originally coined by an economist at Goldman Sachs, currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
BRICS has pledged to address the grievances of member countries over a world order they feel favours the US more than other emerging economies.
Economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and China’s declining relations with the United States are spurring the bloc to turn BRICS into a strong counterweight to the West economically and politically.
“BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting a summit of BRICS leaders.
The six candidate countries will formally become members on Jan. 1, 2024. Ramaphosa and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left the door open to the possibility of admitting other countries in the future.
“We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow,” Ramaphosa said at a media briefing.
Lula said globalisation’s promises had failed, adding that it was time to revitalise cooperation with developing countries as “there is a risk of nuclear war”,
United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed, whose country is already a shareholder of the bloc’s New Development Bank, said he appreciated the inclusion of his country in the expansion.
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.
“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”.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed what he called “a great moment” for his country, the second-most populous in Africa.
“Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.