South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended invitations to Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join BRICS as full members, effective from the 1st of January 2024.
President Ramaphosa highlighted that the five existing BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – have reached a consensus on the fundamental principles, benchmarks, criteria, and processes pertaining to the expansion initiative, which had been a topic of discussion for some time.
Notably, this marks the second instance of BRICS expanding its membership. The consortium was originally established in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2010.
