The club made by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa has decided to accept new members after twenty years. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, and UAE have been accepted as the new members. The purpose of the club is closer economic cooperation and to provide an alternative to the Western-dominated clubs. Read more in English here.
- Joining BRICS indicates a willingness to collaborate with Putin’s Russia. So this is a signal sent to the NATO countries that Russia is not alone.
- The BRICS expansion is a challenge to the old world order (where world trade is calculated in US dollars; the World Bank dictates loan terms and international payment systems are used politically vis-à-vis Russia).
- The new BRICS represents 50% of the world population and 30% of the world economy.