This Thursday (24th), in the final declaration of the 15th BRICS Summit, the bloc announced the entry of Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Ethiopia.
The six countries that had their entry approved will be part of the BRICS as of January 2024.
Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kouweit, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Palestine, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam had sent requests to join the BRICS.
“In the last two days, the leaders of the BRICS, at their 15th summit, had the opportunity to hold discussions both privately and at the official meeting and, in the course of these debates, reached the conclusion of adopting the Declaration of Johannesburg II as a document that encompasses and addresses the various issues on which the leaders had to decide,” said the South African leader.
For three days, the bloc’s members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) debated topics such as the accession of new members, the possible creation of a common currency, as well as new commercial, economic and political opportunities.
Currently, the BRICS represent more than 30% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 42% of the world’s population. The BRICS summit was held from the 22nd to the 24th of August in Johannesburg, with the presence of the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
Russia is represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the summit via videoconference.
Previously, the chancellor of South Africa, Naledi Pandor, declared that the BRICS countries agreed, at the summit in Johannesburg, the key principles for the expansion of the group.
