The BRICS bloc of emerging economies announced yesterday at its annual summit that it was accepting six new member countries, consolidating its vision of forming a significant counterweight to organizations like the G7 in the Global South.
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates will become members from January 1. The expansion—the first since South Africa’s accession in 2010—will make the BRICS bloc more geographically diverse and add influential members, for example from the Gulf region. However, in terms of economic prowess and population, the new members cannot rival massive countries like India and China as well as more developed economies like Russia and Brazil.
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