Director of Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Branch in Makkah Welcomes Ethiopian Consul

Today in Jeddah, Mazen bin Hamad Al-Hamli, the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ branch in the Makkah region, welcomed the Consul General of the Republic of Ethiopia in Jeddah, Melogeta Khalil Bashir.

During the reception, the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ branch in the Makkah and the consul exchanged discussions on topics of mutual interest, reported Saudi Press Agency.

KSA, Ethiopia in BRICS

Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Egypt joined BRICS this January.

Current BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa invited six countries to join the bloc. Consequently, this move aimed to connect major energy producers with large consumers in developing nations.

Argentina, however, declined the invitation. The south American nation’s new president Javier Maile reversed the previous administration’s application.

Subsequently representatives from the five invited countries attended the BRICS Sherpa meeting in Durban, South Africa. Their full participation was a clear acceptance of the invitation, as stated by Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to BRICS, in a Bloomberg interview.

Origins and Growth of BRICS Group Term

Economist Jim O’Neill coined “BRIC” in 2001 while at Goldman Sachs. Initially, the term highlighted the robust economic growth in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. It aimed to offer investors optimism during the post-9/11 market gloom.

In 2009, the BRICS group had its first leaders’ summit and added South Africa in 2010, thus including another continent and the “S” in BRICS.

Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov mentioned that about 30 countries want to establish relations with BRICS. Furthermore, in November, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tugar announced Nigeria’s intention to join BRICS within two years.

 BRICS Group, Performance, Challenges

Except for India, the BRICS group has underperformed its emerging market counterparts over the past five years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. U.S.-led sanctions have placed Russia beyond the reach of many foreign investors, and some sectors in China – particularly technology companies – have been sanctioned or face a potential investment ban.

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