Russia says nearly 30 countries want to join BRICS

Flags of the five BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Photo: Reuters).

At a press conference on Russia's diplomatic results in 2023 on January 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that one of the most important steps to strengthen BRICS' global position was the decision to expand the group of emerging economies.

BRICS officially announced the addition of new member states at its summit last August, marking the first expansion since South Africa joined in 2010. In addition to founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, the association now plans to add Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

A number of other countries have expressed interest in becoming members of BRICS, including Venezuela, Thailand, Senegal, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Bahrain and Pakistan. All of these countries have formally applied to join.

Other countries such as Syria, Türkiye, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Zimbabwe have also expressed their desire to join BRICS, but have not yet submitted formal applications for membership.

With countries showing growing interest in joining BRICS, Lavrov stressed that the group has “a bright future ahead.” He pledged that Russia, which takes over the rotating BRICS presidency on January 1, would help ensure that new members “fundamentally fit into the group’s common work and contribute to strengthening positive trends not only in BRICS but also on the international stage.”

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), BRICS now accounts for 36% of global GDP in terms of purchasing power parity, surpassing the G7 group of Western countries.

Earlier this month, media also reported that Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy , had joined the BRICS group. Riyadh later denied the news, stating that although it had received an invitation to join BRICS, it had not yet decided to formally join the organization.

Last year, Argentina initially accepted an invitation to become a full member of BRICS, but eventually backed out after newly elected president Javier Milei refused to join the group.

Mr. Milei has repeatedly spoken out against joining BRICS. He has also expressed a lukewarm view on economic relations with China and Brazil, instead favoring economic rapprochement with the United States and Israel.

Before Saudi Arabia joined, the five BRICS countries had a total area of more than 39.7 million km2 and a total population of 3.21 billion people, equivalent to more than 26.6% of the world's land area and 41.53% of the world's population.

The common point of BRICS is that the member countries have large populations, large areas, and strong military potential. They are also emerging economies with strong potential, as the total GDP of the members has continuously grown steadily over the past decades and is expected to increase strongly in the coming years.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-noi-gan-30-nuoc-muon-gia-nhap-brics-20240118190609803.htm