BRICS accepts Ethiopia, five other nations as member states

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE  will be joining BRICS starting 2024

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BRICS — the economic group of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — has invited six countries to join the bloc.

Ethiopia and Egypt from Africa, Argentina from Latin America, Iran from the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates from the Gulf region are invited to join the bloc.

BRICS decision is said to be in line with its plans to expand its influence in pursuit of crafting a just world order.

“We have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures of the BRICS expansion process which has been in discussion for quite a while. We have a consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow. We have decided to invite The Argentine Republic, The Arab Republic of Egypt, The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, The Islamic Republic of Iran, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of the BRICS,” South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced during a press statement.

He added that the membership will take effect as of January 2024.  The decision will make the members of BRICS 11. More than 40 countries around the world are said to have expressed interest in joining the bloc.

With the new members, the Bloc now represents about 47 percent of the World Population.

The Block was having its meeting in Johannesburg. The Russian President was represented by his Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In June of this year, Ethiopia announced that it is seeking BRICS membership and there has been a diplomatic campaign to achieve it.

In a remark after the announcement, Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed tried to link the decision to “Ethiopia’s growing economy, green legacy, history and population size” of the country. Abiy Ahmed said Ethipoia’s acceptance to BRICS membership is a great diplomatic achivement.

He said the rest of the countries are accepted based on the GDP size while Ethiopia’s case is seen as a prospect for growth.

“A great moment for #Ethiopia as the BRICS leaders endorse our entry into this group today. Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order,” he wrote on social media page.

He also thinks that Ethiopia’s acceptance will make the “South-South cooperation” more meaningful.

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