BRICS has decided to expand their number of members for the first time since 2010. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, and Iran are the new members admitted to membership effective January 1, 2024.
The BRICS bloc, currently representing 40% of the world’s population and over 25% of global GDP, seeks to counterbalance Western dominance in international affairs and expand its global influence. With the additional countries, BRICS represents 46% of the world’s population and more than 30% of the global economy.
The group will now include several major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest crude oil exporter. More than 80% of international trade takes place in US dollars, and the expansion could push forward the bloc’s goal to trade in alternative currencies. The group plans to allow further expansion, with more than 40 countries expressing interest in joining the alliance.
As a result of this expanded membership, the new BRICS currency will emerge in the year ahead.
This is also a response from all current and prospective BRICS members and, in fact, the entire Global South to the threads and weaponization of the U.S. dollar by the Us government. A move to protect themselves against the threat that dollar-denominated reserves may be frozen by the U.S., as recently happened to Russia.
Sven Franssen