Johannesburg, Aug 24: Top leaders of the BRICS nations on Thursday decided to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members of the grouping that is largely seen as a counterweight to Western powers.
The decision to induct the six countries to join the bloc from January 1 next year was announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the final day of the annual summit of the BRICS that currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
“We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow,” Ramaphosa, flanked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said at a media briefing at the end of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
With the entry of the six countries, the total number of members in the grouping is reaching 11 from the current five.
The decision to expand the bloc is seen as an effort to reshape global governance while putting the voices of the Global South as a key priority area to advance the overall development agenda.
The South African president said an agreement was reached on the “guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been under discussion for quite a while”.
“We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS,” he added.
Around 40 countries had shown interest in joining BRICS out of which 23 formally applied for the membership.
In his media statement, Modi said the “expansion and modernisation” of BRICS is a message that all institutions in the world need to mould themselves according to changing times. “India has always fully supported the expansion of the BRICS membership. India has been of the view that the addition of new members will further strengthen BRICS as an organisation, and give a new impetus to all our common endeavours,” he said.
The prime minister said the decision to expand the bloc will further strengthen the faith of many countries in the multipolar world order.
“The expansion and modernization of BRICS is a message that all the institutions of the world should adapt to the circumstances of the changing times,” he said.
“This is such an initiative that can become an example for the reform of other global institutions established in the 20th century,” he added.
Chinese President Xi described the expansion of BRICS as a “new starting point” for cooperation in the grouping.
“It will bring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism, further strengthening a force for world peace and development,” he said at the press briefing.
The grouping took shape in September 2006 and it originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). It was renamed as BRICS after South Africa was accepted as a full member in September 2010.
At present, the BRICS represents 41 per cent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP. (PTI)
