Johannesburg, 2 January 2024 (TDI): For a global shift, BRICS welcomes Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as new members on January 1, 2024.
With more nations joining, BRICS an essential forum for collaboration between emerging markets and developing countries, will contribute more to global governance, international peace, and development.
BRICS welcomes new members 🇸🇦🇪🇬🇦🇪🇮🇷🇪🇹 on #NewYear2024. With more countries on board, #BRICS will contribute more to global governance and world peace and development as an important platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries. pic.twitter.com/VMWUWHRf7E
— 王鲁彤 Wang Lutong (@WangLutongMFA) January 2, 2024
This extension reflects the BRICS group’s growing significance and influence, which has been the subject of multiple membership requests in recent years. Recognizing the five new members’ strategic positions within their respective areas and economic potential, the Johannesburg Summit in August 2023 formally welcomed them to join.
Also Read: Exploring Pakistan’s desire to Join BRICS
Russian Presidency
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has highlighted the BRICS’s commitment to “strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.” Putin will assume the rotating chairmanship of the organization in 2024.
Russia intends to organize over 200 social, political, and economic gatherings in ten cities this year, culminating in a summit in Kazan in October.
Additionally, Putin has stated that the BRICS initiatives would benefit the global order. According to him, more nations are looking for alternatives to the US-led “rules-based system” and would instead follow their and their allies’ interests. He thinks that doing this will foster advantageous circumstances for cooperative development.
Similarly, Putin reaffirmed these objectives during his year-end news conference, where he promised to effectively carry out the Johannesburg Summit’s decisions including the one about BRICS membership expansion.
💬 President Vladimir Putin: On January 1, Russia was passed the baton of the #BRICS.
☝️ We will continue to promote all aspects of the BRICS partnership: politics and security, economy and finance, as well as cultural and humanitarian contacts.
🔗 https://t.co/ixAbRDh5OP pic.twitter.com/LSPKE8k0cY
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) January 1, 2024
Moreover, the BRICS coalition aims to strangle the US dollar by settling cross-border transactions in local currencies. Members of the BRICS group—India, China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have already begun to settle international commerce in local currencies.
Also Read: Russia assumes BRICS chairmanship
If the BRICS countries stop using the dollar for international trade, it might impact five US financial sectors. The banking, foreign exchange, tourism, and production sectors are among the financial industries that may experience a decline. The five industries listed below will suffer if BRICS members decide not to resolve their disputes in US dollars.
5 U.S. Sectors To Be Affected If BRICS Ditches the Dollar For Tradehttps://t.co/dYzOC3vN7l
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) January 1, 2024
Meanwhile, it needs to be remembered that Argentina has withdrawn a planned entry from the BRICS group under the leadership of new president Javier Milei.
A global landscape shift started on the very 1st day of 2024, as BRICS welcomed five new members:
Saudi Arabia🇸🇦, Egypt🇪🇬, United Arab Emirates🇦🇪, Iran🇮🇷, and Ethiopia🇪🇹.
Argentina has withdrawn from its planned entry under its new president @JMilei.One step closer to… pic.twitter.com/oTvRziqCjk
— Li Jingjing 李菁菁 (@Jingjing_Li) January 2, 2024
In a nutshell, these five new members have increased the group’s economic and political power. Together, they represent a population of over 2.5 billion people and a GDP of over $16 trillion.
Owais Khan is a contributing writer on TDI.
