The BRICS alliance inducted six new countries into the bloc during the summit in Johannesburg. The six countries are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Argentina, Iran, and Ethiopia. The countries are set to officially join the group and be a part of the summit in 2024. This makes the BRICS turn into BRICS+, which will be an 11-nation member.
However, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa made a huge announcement about the second phase of the BRICS expansion. According to his statement, many more countries are set to be inducted into the group in the coming months.
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Second Phase of BRICS Expansion To Follow, Confirms South Africa’s President
On the last day of the 2023 summit, Ramaphosa confirmed that the second phase of the expansion would follow suit. “We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow,” he told Bloomberg. Therefore, according to Ramaphosa, the second phase of the BRICS expansion could be initiated going forward.
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The tentative date for the second expansion of BRICS is yet to be known. Ramaphosa did not confirm further processes but another round of expansion is on the cards. The countries that could be inducted in the second round are unknown at the moment. The alliance will review the applications again and jointly conclude decisions about further expansion.
The BRICS expansion makes developing countries stand on one side of the aisle while Western nations stand on the other side. The economic rift could widen as BRICS nations and their allies look at dethroning the US dollar’s global status.
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