BRICS – an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – welcomed 2024 by adding more members to the influential bloc.
The five nations declared as official members of the group include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
The expansion came after BRICS invited six other countries to join them in August of last year.
The sixth country to have been invited was Argentina but the South American country officially withdrew its application process on December 30, 2023.
The five other countries continued and was declared new members of the group after a few days.
Prior to the addition of its new members, the bloc boasts 42% of the global population and a cumulative GDP of about 28 trillion USD, with China contributing the largest GDP at about 16.86 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021.
The bloc was initially formed in 2009 to highlight investment opportunities.
Through the years, it became a symbol of anti-Western bloc and a platform to challenge the world order by introducing multipolarity.
The five new countries were chosen due to their geopolitical importance.
It remains to be seen if BRICS will possibly change its name after adding more countries in the group.
