Five nations become full members of BRICS
BRICS bloc of top emerging economies, including India, Russia and China, has announced induction of five full members into it as part of an attempt to expand its strategic heft against the backdrop of Western dominance in world affairs. As Moscow assumed the presidency of BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the grouping has become a 10-nation body now with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joining it as new members.
In August, the top BRICS leaders at the grouping's summit in Johannesburg approved a proposal to admit six countries, including Argentina, into the bloc with effect from January 1.
However, Argentina's new President Javier Milei last week announced withdrawing his country from becoming a member of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa).
«Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS as new full members which is a strong indication of the growing authority of the association and its role in international affairs,» Putin said in an address.
The Russian President said BRICS is attracting an ever increasing number of supporters and like-minded countries that share its underlying principles such as sovereign equality, openness, consensus, aspiration to form a multipolar international order and a fair global financial and trading system.
The grouping took shape in September 2006 and it originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC).
It was renamed as BRICS after South Africa was accepted as a full member in September 2010.
With Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as its members, BRICS represents a quarter of the global economy and it has been a major engine of global economic growth over
