Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join as full members from January 1 next year. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced on the final day of a summit of the group that considers itself a counterweight to Western powers.
The group encompassing five major emerging economies – China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India – which makes decisions by consensus, agreed on “the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process”.
While Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa all publicly expressed support for expansion, there was division among the leaders over how many countries could join and how quickly it would happen.
The last time the BRICS expanded was in 2010, when South Africa joined, adding an “S” to the acronym, one year after the creation of the block. Currently, it represents around 40% of the world’s population and more than a quarter of global GDP.
The expansion signifies an important move in the attempt to reshape the global order into a multipolar world, with voices from the Global South at the center of the international agenda.
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