Brics group set to expand with six more countries to join next year

The leaders of the Brics states have agreed to invite six countries from Africa, the Middle East and South America to join the group from the beginning of next year.

On the final day of the 15th Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would join the group.

To facilitate the expansion, Mr Ramaphosa said the group had also reached agreement on the principles, standards, criteria and procedures that would guide the admission process.

[ Vladimir Putin defends Ukraine war during address to Brics summit in Johannesburg ]

“We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow,” he told a press conference at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday morning.

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Mohammad Jamshidi, a senior adviser to Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the country’s admission to Brics was a triumph of diplomacy for his country. Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed also welcomed his country’s admission as a “great moment”.

Prior to the summit, it was unclear whether the five permanent members could agree on expanding the group, but as the conference progressed over the week it became clear there was a real desire among the leaders to do so.

The purpose and effectiveness of the group has often been questioned since it emerged in 2009 as an alternative for developing states to the global institutions and financial bodies dominated by the US and EU countries.

[ Brics leaders unite in stand over dominance of trade and finance by West ]

However, in recent years, countries from the developing world have felt bodies such as the UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have failed to treat them fairly. Consequently, many have been on the lookout for new institutional bodies to align with.

According to Mr Ramaphosa, 23 countries from around the world had officially asked to become members of the Brics group over the past year and a similar number have shown an interest in joining.

A key attraction of the group is the New Development Bank, created in 2015, which aims to offer developing countries an alternative to the World Bank and IMF. Following the announcement, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi said the new countries’ addition to Brics would strengthen the belief among other states that a new multipolar world order was attainable.

[ Brics leaders look to reduce trade barriers in Africa ]

For the countries that expressed a desire to join Brics, but did not make the cut at this summit, Mr Modi said “India will contribute to the building of a consensus for them to be a part of Brics as partner countries”. Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the expansion meant “the GDP of Brics is going up to 37 per cent of the world GDP in terms of purchasing power, and 46 per cent in terms of the world population”.

Chinese president Xi Jinping called the Brics expansion “historic” and a new starting point for co-operation between members and other countries in the global south. He added it would help “to further the cause for world peace and development”.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin had little to say other than to welcome the new members, even though the next annual Brics summit will be held in his country.