24 August 2023; MEMO: The BRICS alliance invited six countries to join, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina and Egypt.
BRICS is currently made up of five countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The new members would be brought in on 1 January 2024.
The South African President and chair of BRICS, Cyril Ramaphosa, made the announcement on X this morning saying: “We have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the #BRICS expansion process.”
This announcement followed the 15th BRICS summit in which new members were a critical focus.
BRICS membership has been sought by over 40 countries including the six invited for membership and others like Cuba and Indonesia.
President Xi Jinping of China said at a press meeting that the new members would “bring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism, further strengthening a force for world peace and development.”
President Mohammed Bin Zayed of the UAE commented on X, saying: “We respect the vision of the BRICS leadership and appreciate the inclusion of the UAE as a member to this important group.”
