On the first day of his chairmanship, BRICS has already expanded and welcomes five new countries to the exclusive bloc.On January 1, 2024, Putin welcomed Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As Russia kicks off the BRICS summit, the new alliance may just see its biggest-ever expansion.
As per sources, around 25 nations, including Pakistan, Palestine and many more, are looking to join BRICS this year. With a majority of the applications being submitted after the 2023 summit in Johannesburg, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are now hopeful for an expansion to counter the dominance of Western alliances and move towards a multi-polar world.
BRICS 2024 – Which Countries Want to Join BRICS Alliance?
| 1 | Algeria | Applied for membership in 2023 |
| 2 | Bahrain | |
| 3 | Bangladesh | |
| 4 | Pakistan | |
| 5 | Bolivia | |
| 6 | Cuba | |
| 7 | Kazakhstan | |
| 8 | Kuwait | |
| 9 | Palestine | |
| 10 | Senegal | |
| 11 | Afghanistan | Expressed Interest To Join BRICS |
| 12 | Angola | |
| 13 | Comoros | |
| 14 | D.R. Congo | |
| 15 | Gabon | |
| 16 | Guinea-Bissau | |
| 17 | Mexico | |
| 18 | Nicaragua | |
| 19 | Sudan | |
| 20 | Syria | |
| 21 | Tunisia | |
| 22 | Turkey | |
| 23 | Uganda | |
| 24 | Uruguay | |
| 25 | Zimbabwe |
Of these 25, 10 countries have formally submitted their applications. BRICS 2024 Summit is likely to be held in October, where the new member-states will be announced.
BRICS 2024 Set For Expansion
The expansion of BRICS also comes at a time of a dollar decline. South African BRICS ambassador Anil Sooklal has also stated that with 25 nations looking to join the alliance, "a growing desire among developing nations to reduce reliance on the US dollar in international trade," has been reflected.
With BRICS, there is a focus on local currency trade, which poses a strong challenge to the prominence of the US dollar in international trade.
The expansion of BRICS would also pave the way for the alliance to become a strong counterweight for Western alliances such as NATO and the G7 - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.
BRICS was identified in 2006 during the UN General Assembly with Brazil, India, China and Russia. With the addition of South Africa in 2010, the group became BRICS.
The term was first coined by Goldman Sachs Economist Jim O'Neill to draw attention towards the growth rates in Brazil, Russia, India and China. The term was coined to indicate a positive scenario for investors due to the negative outlook towards the market following the 9/11 Attacks in the United States.
