BRICS To Get New Members: Here Are The Six Countries Set To Join The Group

The five-member BRICS is set for an expansion next year as six new countries will be joining the group from January 2024.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa where the BRICS Summit is currently being held, announced on Thursday (24 August) that the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China And South Africa - have agreed to invite six new member countries to join the group.

"We have consensus on first phase of this BRICS expansion process," Mr Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg, adding, "We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to become full members..."

"The membership will take effect from the first of January, 2024," he said.

Speaking immediately after Ramaphosa's announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS Summit, welcomed all six nations into the BRICS group.

"I take this opportunity to welcome these six nations to BRICS... and I congratulate the leaders and people of these nations. India has close ties, historic ties, with each of these countries and I believe we will work together for a new era of cooperation and prosperity," PM Modi said, PTI reported.