SAUDI Arabia’s Minister of Commerce Majid al-Kasabi clarified that although the Kingdom has received an invitation to join BRICS, it has not officially joined the influential group.
The Emirati minister made the revelation during a panel session at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier this week.
The 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum attended by thousands of world leaders and top experts started on January 15 and ends on January 19.
Often labeled as anti-Western and a supporter of multipolar world order, this grouping of emerging market economies which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa has decided to expand by inviting more countries last year.
At the 15th BRICS Summit in August 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Iran had been invited to join the organization on January 1, 2024.
Of this number, the UAE, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia officially joined the group on the said date while Argentina canceled its membership a few days before the New Year.
The Saudi minister’s recent announcement clarified previous reports that the Kingdom has joined the bloc.
Even before the expansion, BRICS had already proven itself as an economic heavyweight as the organization alone represented about 26 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 16 percent of global trade.
