BRICS leaders announced on Thursday
\nthe “historic” admission of six new countries from next year as the club of
\nlarge and populous emerging economies seeks to reshape the global order.<\/p>\n
The BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — agreed at their
\nannual summit to make Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the
\nUnited Arab Emirates full members from January 1.<\/p>\n
“This membership expansion is historic,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping,
\nwhose nation is the most powerful in the group of non-Western states that
\nrepresents a quarter of the world’s economy.<\/p>\n
“The expansion is also a new starting point for BRICS cooperation. It will
\nbring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further strengthen
\nthe force for world peace and development”.<\/p>\n
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed what he called “a great moment”
\nfor his country, the second-most populous in Africa.<\/p>\n
“Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous
\nglobal order,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n