BRICS Expands: Indonesia Joins as Member, 10 Nations Become Partners

BRICS leaders have welcomed Indonesia as a full member of the group, while ten other countries, including Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Cuba, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan, have been designated as partner countries. The announcement came from the joint declaration of the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The declaration also highlighted the importance of initiatives like the BRICS Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases, alongside statements on Climate Finance and Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence. During the summit, PM Modi emphasized BRICS’s ability to adapt and evolve, calling for reforms in global institutions such as the UN Security Council and the WTO. BRICS originated in 2006, with its first summit in 2009, and has seen expansion over the years, including the addition of South Africa and, later, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and UAE. Indonesia’s full membership and the addition of partner countries represent a significant step in the group’s ongoing development.