JOHANNESBURG. 24th. August, 2023. Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations have invited Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates to join, in a move aimed at growing the clout of a bloc that has pledged to champion the “Global South.”
Expansion could also pave the way for dozens of interested countries to seek admission to BRICS – currently Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – at a time when geopolitical polarization is spurring efforts by Beijing and Moscow to forge it into a viable counterweight to the West.
The new candidate members were announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting a summit of BRICS leaders.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Damodardas Modi has said that during the three-day BRICS Summit, a decision has been taken for the expansion of the five-member Bloc – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa- BRICS. Mr Modi said that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE will now become full members of BRICS. In his address at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg today, the Prime Minister said that India has always supported the expansion of BRICS and has always believed that adding new members will strengthen BRICS as an organisation.
He also expressed confidence that working together with these new members will give a new pace and energy to BRICS cooperation. Mr Modi pointed out that India always had very close and historic ties with all these countries. Mr Modi added that with the help of BRICS, new dimensions will be added to our bilateral ties.
The Prime Minister emphasised that the expansion and modernisation of BRICS is an indication that institutions of the world must get accustomed to changing times.
On the success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission, the Prime Minister said that it is a matter of pride for us that this achievement is being accepted as an achievement for all of humanity. On this historic moment, on behalf of India, its people, and our scientists, the Prime Minister thanked the scientists and the world’s scientific community for their wishes.
Earlier, the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa announced the outcomes of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg saying that the Summit has reached an agreement to invite Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE to become full members of BRICS. The membership will come into effect on the 1st of January 2024.
The debate over expanding the BRICS bloc,comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has topped the agenda at a three-day summit in Johannesburg ending on Thursday.
While all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, there were divisions among the leaders over how much and how quickly.