Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have confirmed they are joining the BRICS bloc after being invited last year, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor announced on Wednesday.
The five countries were invited along with Argentina at a summit in Johannesburg in August to join the bloc, which is currently comprised of Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa. Members of the bloc say that this move would help rebuild a world order they view as outdated.
Argentina has since declined an invitation to join.
“As for confirming membership in BRICS, five of the six countries have confirmed it. These countries are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ethiopia, Iran and Egypt,” Pandor said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Argentina has announced that it will not act on the basis of the successful application of the previous government to become a full member of BRICS, and we accept its decision,” said the head of South African diplomacy, N1 writes.
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