BRICS invites 6 new members including UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia

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.”

BRICS is a diverse group of nations.
 
It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but a shared vision for a better world.
 
As the five #BRICS members, we have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the #BRICS…

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) August 24, 2023

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.”

We respect the vision of the BRICS leadership and appreciate the inclusion of the UAE as a member to this important group. We look forward to a continued commitment of cooperation for the prosperity, dignity and benefit of all nations and people around the world.

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) August 24, 2023

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