2 New Countries Express Interest To Join the Alliance

The BRICS alliance is expanding with several developing countries expressing their interest to join the bloc. While some countries have formally applied to join BRICS by submitting the application, others have informally expressed interest in joining. The countries that want to be a part of the grouping are only growing as the bloc expanded in 2023.

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BRICS alliance invited six new countries to join the alliance last year which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia. However, Argentina was the first country to decline membership as the newly-elected President Javier Milei was skeptical about the group.

Saudi Arabia has also kept the decision to join the BRICS alliance on hold. The Kingdom is evaluating the pros and cons of joining the group and will provide an answer soon. Currently, only four out of the six countries that received the invitation have joined the grouping.

Also Read: India Ditches BRICS Again, Halts Russian Oil Tanker To Buy US Oil

2 New Countries Express Interest To Join BRICS Alliance

In the latest update, two new countries have expressed their interest in joining the BRICS alliance in April 2024. The two countries that want to join BRICS and have expressed interest are Zimbabwe and Cameroon. Both Zimbabwe and Cameroon are African countries and are looking at ways to promote their local currencies and not the US dollar.

Also Read: Analyst Calls BRICS a ‘Superpower’

Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS ditches the dollar for trade. The interest to join the alliance comes at a time when BRICS is on a world tour convincing developing countries to cut ties with the US dollar.

China and Russia are aiming to make African countries trade in the ruble or Chinese Yuan and not the US dollar. Also, both Zimbabwe and Cameroon want to be a part of the BRICS bank, commonly called the New Development Bank (NDB).