Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Iran, Ethiopia to Join BRICS in Jan. 2024
Expansion of BRICS: New Members Joining, Argentina's Decline
South Africa’s envoy to BRICS group, stated the membership of the bloc is set to expand. Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Egypt will join its ranks this January.
Expansion of BRICS: New Members Joining, Argentina’s Decline
In August last year, 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, earlier this month, 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.
Additionally, these new members plan to send officials to the next Sherpa meeting in Moscow on January 30. Therefore, this expansion represents a significant shift in the BRICS alliance.
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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