Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran among six countries invited to join BRICS group
Oil powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to become members of the BRICS group of developing nations in its first expansion in over a decade.
Also invited are Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday as he wrapped up the annual summit of the group in Johannesburg.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the kingdom was awaiting details from the BRICS group on the nature of the membership, and would take an “appropriate decision” accordingly.
All six countries invited had already expressed an interest in joining. The BRICS group currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
“The membership will take effect from the first of January, 2024,” Ramaphosa said.
At: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/business/saudi-arabia-brics-invitation-intl/index.html
Brazilian President Luiz "Lula" da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during yesterday's BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
The bloc of large developing countries - formed in 2006 as a counterweight to the Bush-era G-7 - agreed to add six members.
Totaling 420 million people between (compared to 3.2 billion in the current BRICS nations), the six countries include four with severe economic and/or balance-of-payments problems.
