Iran, Saudi and Egypt among 6 to join BRICS

Mediapersons watch Putin’s address via video link. Pic/AP

Iran and Saudi Arabia are among six countries that will join the BRICS bloc of developing economies as new members from 2024, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday. United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also set to join the bloc that is currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The five members agreed at this week's summit to expand the bloc. Ramaphosa said the idea of expansion had been worked on for over a year.

It's the second time that BRICS has decided to expand. The bloc was formed in 2009 with fifth member South Africa added in 2010. The BRICS bloc currently represents around 40 per cent of the world's population and contributes more than a quarter of global GDP.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, are attending the summit with Ramaphosa, while Russian President Vladimir Putin participated virtually.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever