Six countries got membership of BRICS

BRICS, the organization of emerging economies, has decided to add six new members. But it does not have the name of Bangladesh. South African President Ramaphosa gave this information on Thursday (August 24). His statement was published on social media platform X. The current BRICS leaders have invited Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to join the alliance.

Ramaphosa said BRICS is an alliance of diverse ethnic groups. It believes in equal partnership of different countries. Different countries may have different visions, but they all dream of a better world. As five members of BRICS, we have agreed on the expansion of this alliance.

Earlier a total of 23 countries have formally applied for BRICS membership. Six of these countries were invited by Ramaphosa.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are among six nations invited Thursday (August 24, 2023) to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies and United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also set to join the bloc from 2024.

BRICS is currently made up of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Those five members agreed at this week's summit to expand the bloc.

It's the second time that BRICS has decided to expand. The bloc was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010. The BRICS bloc represents around 40% of the world's population and contributes more than a quarter of global GDP.

Three of the group's other leaders are attending the summit and were present alongside Ramaphosa for the announcement, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin did not travel to the summit after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March for the abduction of children from Ukraine. He has participated in the summit virtually, while Russia was represented at the announcement in Johannesburg by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.