BRICS Leaders Agree to Accept Six New Members

China, Russia and South Africa want BRICS to “counterbalance” the West.

Analysts say the inclusion of Iran and major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, in particular, in an expanded bloc is a powerful message that BRICS intends to rival organizations such as the G7 and G20.

The BRICS countries say these groupings, plus others such as the United Nations and World Bank, are “pro-West” and do not represent the interests of the Global South.

Welcoming the new members, China’s President Xi Jinping called the BRICS expansion “historic.”

“It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries," he said. "It meets the expectations of the international community and the common interests of emerging market countries and developing countries. It will bring new vigor to the BRICS cooperation mechanism, (and) further strengthens the force for world peace and development."

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed the announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter, as "A great moment ... as the BRICS leaders endorse our entry into this group today."

A senior adviser to Iran's president also hailed the country's forthcoming admission to the BRICS grouping as a triumph of diplomacy for the Islamic republic.

"Permanent membership in the group of global emerging economies is considered a historic development and a strategic success for the foreign policy of the Islamic republic," Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on X.

Brazil’s leader Lula da Silva said BRICS now represents 46% of the global population, and 37% of the world GDP.

A "new scenario" opens for Argentina with the South American country's invitation to join the BRICS group of developing nations, President Alberto Fernandez said on Thursday.

Fernandez added that joining the bloc would be a "great opportunity" to strengthen the nation, which has been in economic crisis with a weakened currency, dried-up foreign reserves and spiraling inflation.

"We look forward to develop this cooperation to create new developmental and economic opportunities and elevate our relationship to the aspired level," Saudian Arabian Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the summit

A South African official at the summit told VOA the push for expansion was driven “overwhelmingly” by China, supported “strongly” by Russia and South Africa.

He said India and Brazil were “hesitant” to add “some” of the prospective new members, concerned that China and Russia want to use BRICS to “fight” the United States and its allies.

But, he added, Brazil’s leader Lula da Silva and India’s Narendra Modi eventually agreed to expansion, after receiving assurances that a bigger BRICS would “develop” poorer nations, rather than being “weaponized.”

Political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki says the tension between China and India, in particular, was clear at the summit.

“India has become closer to the Western powers, I think as a result of its disputes with China. So it’s driving India into the arms of the West," he said.

"For the BRICS group, this is a problem. But for India, given the threat, China’s a much bigger military power than India, so India has to turn to the West for help in its border dispute with China … India’s turning to Western countries for military equipment — the U.S., and France … Traditionally, India has been armed by Russia. But Russia and China have become much closer as a result of the war in Ukraine. So, India appears to be backing off from its relationship with Russia,” Mbeki added.

Both India and China claim land on the border of the world’s two most-populated countries. There have been several deadly clashes in recent years between their troops.

In June, when Modi visited Washington, President Joe Biden described India as among America’s “closest partners in the world.”

He and Modi released a joint statement that was received very negatively in Beijing. It set out plans for India to manufacture semiconductors, the components essential to most modern-day electronic devices.

China’s the fourth-largest manufacturer of semiconductors in the world, but all other top producers — including Japan and Taiwan — are U.S. allies.

Biden and Modi also announced agreements to enable the greater transfer of U.S. military technology to India.

China is also angered by India’s membership, along with Australia, Japan and the U.S, to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue designed to “protect” the Indo-Pacific region.

Mbeki thinks BRICS felt “forced” to add new members, fast.

“I suspect one of the drivers of that has been the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia by the Western powers, and the arming of Ukraine against the Russian Federation," he said.

"I think there’s a bigger consensus within the BRICS member countries about how they see the New World Order. They’re certainly against domination by the Western Powers.”

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa says BRICS will expand more in the future.

Some of the information in this report came from Reuters and AFP.