Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Egypt have accepted offers to join BRICS, a coalition of emerging-market states.
BRICS, the group of emerging-market nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is set to expand significantly on January 1. Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt have all accepted offers to join, thereby tripling the organization’s membership.
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Background
At the 15th BRICS Summit in August 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that 6 developing market countries (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) will be asked to join the bloc. Full membership was planned to take effect on January 1, 2024. However, the Argentine general election in November 2023 resulted in a change of president to Javier Milei, who had promised to withdraw the country’s membership application. On November 30, 2023, Argentina’s incoming Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, declared that the country would not join the BRICS. Argentina’s government notified all BRICS leaders of its withdrawal from the application process in a December 29, 2023 letter.
The goal of the newest extension is presented as part of a plan to create a multipolar world order that gives weight to previously suppressed voices of the Global South and takes them to the forefront of the global agenda.
BRICS Evolution
The name “BRIC” was coined in 2001 to highlight the rapid economic expansion of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These founding countries held its inaugural summit in Yekaterinburg in 2009. South Africa joined the organization a year later in 2010, expanding it to include another continent and adding the letter “S.”
It’s an intergovernmental organization. Initially formed to showcase economic potential, the grouping has matured into a cohesive geopolitical bloc, with nations gathering annually at official summits and coordinating multilateral policy since 2009. Bilateral ties among the BRICS are primarily based on non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.
The BRICS countries account for around 30% of the world’s land surface and 45% of the worldwide population. Brazil, Russia, India, and China are among the top ten largest countries in terms of population, area, nominal GDP, and purchasing power parity. All five original member states are G20 members, with a combined nominal GDP of US$28 trillion (about 27% of global GDP), a total GDP (PPP) of around US$57 trillion (33% of global GDP PPP), and an estimated US$4.5 trillion in combined foreign reserves (as of 2018).
The BRICS countries are regarded as the primary geopolitical rivals of the G7 bloc of leading developed nations, with competing initiatives including the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, the BRICS Pay, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication, and the BRICS basket reserve currency.
FAQs
Which five countries will join BRICS, doubling its membership?
Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt have all accepted offers to join, thereby tripling the organization’s membership.
How many nations were initially invited to join BRICS in August?
6 developing countries (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) were asked to join the bloc.