Building Brick by BRIC(S): Bloc expands with six new counties

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After weeks of speculation, and a last-minute stalemate, the BRICS group of nations has extended an invite to six additional countries. The new countries are Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

BRICS is a diverse group of nations.

It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but a shared vision for a better world.

As the five #BRICS members, we have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the #BRICS…

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) August 24, 2023

While the original BRICS bloc members largely agreed on the idea of expansion, there was extensive debate on the details. On the last night of the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi submitted new admission criteria for new countries.

According to BRICS country officials, the new criteria stated that new members could not be the subject of international sanctions and set a minimum per capital GDP requirement.

The new criteria proposed by Prime Minister Modi likely were not adopted by the bloc, as an invitation was extended to Iran, which is currently subject to international sanctions.

As of August, over 40 countries expressed interest in joining the group, and over 22 formally asked to be admitted. Ultimately, the BRICS bloc wrapped up the summit by extending an invitation to a more modest number of 6 new countries.