Argentina became the first country to reject BRICS membership after being invited to join the alliance in August this year. BRICS invited six new countries to join the bloc including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and Argentina. The newly elected Argentina President Javier Milei vowed during the campaign trail that he would reject BRICS membership if elected to power. Milei stood by his words and declined the BRICS invitation and now Nigeria is aiming to replace Argentina’s place in the alliance.
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BRICS: Nigeria Now Looking To Replace Argentina
Nigeria experienced a robust economic growth of about 6.6% last year and is expected to continue in the coming years. This puts Nigeria in a suitable position to join BRICS as it brings a strong yet growing economy to the table. The country had formally applied to join BRICS but did not make it in the expansion this year. However, Nigeria laid out a path that the country must be in BRICS within the next two years by 2025.
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Now that Argentina has declined to be a part of BRICS, Nigeria is aiming to take the spot that the Latin American country rejected. Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar said that the country needs to be in BRICS. “Nigeria has come of age to decide for itself who her partners should be and where they should be. Being multiple aligned is in our best interest,” he said.
The minister added, “We need to belong to groups like BRICS, like the G-20 and all these other ones. Because if there’s a certain criteria, say the largest countries in terms of population and economy should belong, then why isn’t Nigeria part of it?”
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Nonetheless, the BRICS alliance has not confirmed that it would induct Nigeria into the grouping. We will have to wait and watch for an official confirmation about Nigeria replacing Argentina in BRICS. However, Nigeria has gained an upper hand to join BRICS after Argentina backed out from joining the alliance.