Brasilia, January 18 (RHC)-- Brazil has announced that Cuba and Bolivia, along with seven other countries, are now partner members of the BRICS group. In addition to Cuba and Bolivia, the other countries that are part of the BRICS group are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan.
The announcement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) of Brazil, which holds the presidency of the group. With the addition of the new members, the diplomatic group now has the following allied countries: Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan.
At the XVI BRICS Summit, held in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, the category of partner country was established. As associates, the newly added members are in a lower position than regular members, although they have the opportunity to participate in summits and meetings.
At its inception, the group comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China, and was known as BRIC, and in 2010, South Africa joined, adopting the name BRICS.
As of January 1, the group is under the provisional presidency of Brazil, which will last for one year; however, the incorporation of the most recent members took place during the Russian presidency, in 2024.
Talks to open the group to new allies began in 2023. At the summit that year in South Africa, permission was granted for the incorporation of six more nations: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, but Saudi Arabia has not formally accepted the invitation. Argentina was included in the list, however, after the assumption of office of Javier Milei, it disassociated itself from the group.
In a statement posted on the official website, the MRE highlighted the incorporation of Nigeria into the group.
“As the sixth largest population in the world and the largest on the African continent, as well as one of the largest economies in Africa, Nigeria has convergent interests with the other members of the group, acting actively to strengthen cooperation in the Global South and reform global governance, priority issues for the current Brazilian presidency,” the statement said.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
