Brics invites 6 nations to be full members in bid to bolster clout

The Brics grouping on Thursday invited Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become full members after leaders of the 17-year-old bloc agreed on principles and criteria for its expansion.

- Rezaul H Laskar

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the current chair of Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China South Africa), announced the expansion at a news conference attended by the leaders of India, Brazil and China. Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the event through a video link.

This was the first expansion of the grouping since 2010, when South Africa joined as the fifth member. The expansion drive has been largely pushed by China and Russia to make the bloc a counterweight to Western dominance of the global governance system.

Ramaphosa described Brics as an equal partnership of countries with differing views but a shared vision for a better world, and said the members reached agreement on guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures for the expansion.

The full membership of the six nations will take effect from January 1, 2024, Ramaphosa said. This is the first phase of the expansion and more will follow. The Brics foreign ministers will develop a partner country model and a list of prospective partners by the next summit, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his remarks at the new conference, described the expansion as a move that will strengthen faith in a multipolar world order and a message that all global institutions should adapt to the changing times.