BRICS previously included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group expanded in January 2024. Now Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also joined this group.
BRICS summit is going to be held in Kazan, Russia from 22 to 24 October this month. Before that, there is a competition to get membership of BRICS. A total of 34 countries including Pakistan, Türkiye, Myanmar, Syria, Palestine have applied for BRICS membership. The big thing is that violence affected Syria, Myanmar and Palestine have also applied. It is being said in media reports that 10 new members and 10 partners can be included in this organization in the upcoming summit.
Let us tell you that India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa are its founding member countries. This group was expanded in January 2024. Now it also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the report of New Indian Express, the new members will be announced only after a consensus is reached in the meeting to be held in Kazan. It is being said that India is currently not in favor of including new members in BRICS, whereas China wants to expand BRICS to strengthen its regional dominance and fulfill its agenda. China can bring Russia on board to pursue this agenda.
Which countries have applied?
According to reports, the 34 countries that have applied for BRICS membership include Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Chad, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, These include Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. There are many countries in this list which are close to China and have a lot of influence on them. These countries oppose US-led alliances and countries together with China.
China wants expansion for its own benefit
Analysts believe that China wants to use BRICS to its advantage. The names of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are also linked in this series, which are neighboring countries of India but are inclined towards China. China wants BRICS to be pitted against G-7. He is making his move by putting Russia forward. At present, Russia is embroiled in a war against Ukraine and is at loggerheads with the Western countries, while China is helping it.
India does not want expansion of BRICS
All BRICS member countries except India and Brazil are part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Even though Brazil is not officially part of the BRI, China is trying to woo it, as it buys about one-third of Brazil's exports. In such a situation, India's argument is that BRICS has expanded recently, hence we should stop and consider its expansion. The presidents of Iran and Türkiye are also going to attend the summit to be held in Kazan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to leave from India's side. This will be his second visit to Russia within three months. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also likely to attend.
Actually, BRICS is an inter-governmental organization, which was established in 2006. Russia takes over the chairmanship of BRICS on January 01, 2024. Apart from Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa at the beginning of this year, it has now included Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Russia's BRICS chairmanship focuses on strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security. As part of its chairmanship, Russia is organizing more than 200 political, economic and social events.
