Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been officially approved as full members of the emerging economies consortium known as BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa disclosed this unanimous decision during a Heads of State press briefing on the final day of the 15th BRICS Summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. This expanded membership will take effect on January 1, 2024.
With this inclusion, the BRICS economic alliance will collectively exert influence over approximately 30 percent of the global GDP. Notably, China leads the group with a GDP of US$19.3 trillion, followed by India at US$3.7 trillion, Brazil at US$2.1 trillion, Russia at US$2 trillion, Saudi Arabia at US$1 trillion, and Argentina at US$0.6 trillion.
The United Arab Emirates contributes US$0.4 trillion to this economic bloc, while South Africa and Egypt each possess US$0.4 trillion. Iran’s GDP stands at US$0.36 trillion, with Ethiopia completing the list at US$0.15 trillion.
Collectively, this expanded BRICS consortium commands a combined GDP valued at US$30.51 trillion, representing 30 percent of the global economy.
“As the five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been under discussion for quite a while. We have a consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow. We value the interest of other countries in building a partnership with BRICS,” Mr. Ramaphosa said.
He added: “We have tasked our foreign ministers to further develop the BRICS partner-country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next summit”.
According to sources, the aggregate gross domestic product of the five BRICS countries exceeds that of the G7 in terms of buying power parity. The BRICS nations collectively account for 26% of the world’s nominal GDP.
3.2 billion people, or 41% of the world’s population, live in the BRICS countries together, and they occupy 26.7 percent of the planet’s land area.
Comments on expansion
China President Xi Jinping, commenting on the expansion, said: “I welcome all the new members of the BRICS organisation. This membership expansion is historic, it shows unity and meets the demands of the growing world. I am confident that if we work with a common interest and in unity, we will reach greater heights”.
The action was praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also commended South Africa for holding the conference successfully.
“On the 15th anniversary of BRICS, we have decided to expand it. India has always believed in the expansion of BRICS because we believe it will give us a new impetus. I would like to congratulate the new members of BRICS. India has ancient ties with all the new member countries. The expansion of BRICS and modernisation shows that all world institutions should change with time,” he said.
For his part, President Vladimir Putin, who attended the summit virtually, said: “With the efforts they [leaders] have made, I would like to note that it turned out that this was a unique diplomatic mastery— including BRICS expansion. I would like to call for more expansion of BRICS around the world. We will also establish the procedures so that BRICS continue to grow”.