Summary
- BRICS adds Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE.
- Expansion boost BRICS global strength.
- Group leaves door open to further expansion, especially for the Global South.
- BRICS bloc makes 27 percent of the global economy and 46 percent of the world population.
Johannesburg, Aug 24 - The BRICS bloc of major emerging economies agreed on Thursday to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.
In deciding in favour of an expansion, the bloc's first in 13 years, BRICS leaders left the door open to future expansion as dozens more countries voiced desires to join a grouping they hope can level the global playing field.
The BRICS group makes decisions by consensus. On Thursday, it agreed on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process.
The expansion adds economic muscle to BRICS, whose current core members are China, the world's second largest economy, as well as Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.
The expansion of the group is part of its plan to build dominance and reshape global governance into a multipolar world order that puts voices of the Global South at the centre of the world agenda.
According to the Chinese President Xi Jinping, the membership expansion was historic. It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing nations.
BRICS was originally BRIC, an acronym coined by Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in 2001, the bloc was founded as an informal four-nation club in 2009 and added South Africa a year later in its only previous expansion.
The six new members will formally become members on January 1, 2024, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said when he named the countries during a three-day XV BRICS summit he is hosting in Johannesburg.
According to President Ramaphosa, BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous. He confirmed that the five core BRICS members had consensus on the first phase of the expansion process and other phases will follow.
Friends and Allies lead candidates
The countries invited to join reflect individual BRICS members' desires to bring allies into the bloc.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had vocally lobbied for neighbour Argentina's inclusion while Egypt has close commercial ties with Russia and India.
The entry of oil superpowers Saudi Arabia and UAE highlights their drift away from the United States' orbit and ambition to become global heavyweights in their own right.
Russia and Iran have found common cause in their shared struggle against the U.S.-led sanctions and diplomatic isolation, with their economic ties deepening in the wake of Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Russian President Vladimir Putin said BRICS is not competing with anyone. President Putin is attending the summit remotely due to an international warrant for alleged war crimes. He's being represented by the world's most vocal diplomat FM Lavrov.
Mr Putin acknowledged that the process of the emerging of a new world order still has fierce opponent. He believes the de-dollarization is irreversible.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi celebrated his country's BRICS invitation with a swipe at Washington, saying on Iranian television network that the expansion "shows that the unilateral approach is on the way to decay".
Beijing is close to Ethiopia and the country's inclusion also speaks to South Africa's desire to amplify Africa's voice in global affairs.
More than 40 countries had expressed desire in joining BRICS, and 23 formally applied to join the bloc.
Some 50 other heads of state and leaders attended the XV BRICS Summit in South Africa, which concluded on Thursday.
Ambitions and Results
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the Thursday's expansion announcement, reflecting the bloc's growing influence. He echoed BRICS' long-standing calls for reforms of the U.N. Security Council, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other global governance structures.
BRICS is now home to 46% of the world's population and 27 percent of global gross domestic product.
Bloc heavyweight China has long called for an expansion of BRICS as it seeks to challenge Western dominance, a strategy shared by Russia.
Other BRICS members support fostering the creation of a multi-polar global order. But Brazil and India have both also been forging closer ties with the West.
For 80 years, the United States dollar has dominated all other currencies. But BRICS is tired of the West’s looming presence over global governance and finance. The bloc is determined to take it down.
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday in a virtual address to the BRICS summit, that the process of de-dollarisation is “irreversible” and “gaining pace".
The US weaponises the dollar in the Russian and Iran sanctions, there is increasing desire by other developing countries to seek alternative currencies for trade, investment, and reserves, as well as developing alternative multilateral clearance systems outside of SWIFT.
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