BRICS alliance plans expansion with six new members
China's President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of expansion

The BRICS alliance, a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has announced plans to expand its membership to include six additional countries. The new members, scheduled to join on Jan. 1, 2024, include Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina. The announcement was made during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, hosted by South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The BRICS group was originally formed in 2009, with South Africa joining a year later. With the upcoming expansion, the alliance will be known as "BRICS plus." The addition of new members to the group shows a desire to strengthen its global presence and influence.
During the summit, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who was video-connected from Moscow, praised Ramaphosa's diplomatic skill in reaching an agreement on the expansion. Putin himself was unable to attend the summit in person because he was facing arrest in South Africa, based on a warrant issued by the World Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
China's President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of enlargement, saying it would give new impetus to cooperation within the group. He also emphasized the growing global responsibility and influence of the BRICS countries. Mohammed bin Zayed, the president of the United Arab Emirates, welcomed the invitation to join the alliance.
A key goal of the BRICS alliance is to counterbalance the geopolitical and economic dominance of the West and reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar. The member states already represent a significant share of the world's population and global economic output.
Despite their common goals, there are differences in political and economic priorities within the BRICS group. China, in particular, as the bloc's dominant economic power, seeks to further strengthen its global position relative to the United States.
The expansion of the BRICS alliance was a central theme of the summit. According to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, some 40 countries have already expressed interest in joining, with more than 20 of them expressing concrete intentions. These countries include Algeria, Kuwait and Indonesia. However, the exact criteria for accession have not yet been announced.
