BRICS Economic Bloc to Welcome Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt as New Members

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Recently, Iran and Saudi Arabia, along with four other nations, have been invited to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies.

The United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia are set to join the bloc from 2024.

The announcement was made at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is the current BRICS chair.

BRICS currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The five members agreed at this week’s summit to expand the bloc.

This is the second time that BRICS has decided to expand since its formation in 2009. 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 leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, were present at the summit for the announcement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit in person due to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. However, he participated virtually, and Russia was represented at the announcement by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.