BRICS to welcome new members in January

(Patria) - BRICS leaders announced the "historic" admission of six new countries as the bloc seeks to reshape the Western-led global order and expand its influence in an era of strategic competition, AFP reported.

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) agreed at its annual summit that
Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates would become
full members from January 1.

"This membership expansion is historic," said Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"The expansion is also a new starting point for BRICS cooperation. It will inject new vitality into the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further strengthen the force for world peace and development," he added.

Beijing has led a campaign to rapidly expand and strengthen BRICS as a counterweight to the dominance of the United States and the West in global affairs, and the push to expand membership was at the top of the agenda for the summit in Johannesburg.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed welcomed what he called a "great moment" for his country, Africa's second most populous nation.

"The benefits of Iran's membership in BRICS will go down in history and open a new chapter and a stronger step towards justice... and lasting peace on the international stage," said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Egypt and the UAE also announced their readiness to work with the loosely defined group, which represents billions of people across four continents and a quarter of the world's wealth. Although it indicated in the announcement that all six countries would join, Saudi Arabia's response was non-committal, with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan saying Riyadh "awaits the details" of the invitation and will "make an appropriate decision".