BRICS Invitations: how did the leaders react?

On August 24th, six BRICS countries were invited to join by the leaders of the group, out of twenty-two announced to apply for membership. 

Not all the governments have fully confirmed their participation in the group. The participation of Argentina is uncertain due to the upcoming elections: in autumn 2023, the incumbent president of Argentina Alberto Fernandez will leave the office. The two leading presidential candidates criticise the decision to join. Other leaders of invited countries are likely to keep their positions at the time of the final decision-making. The principles and guidelines for joining the group were announced to have been agreed upon, but yet to be disclosed. So joining BRICS will be a process to follow.

RAJournal surveyed the first reactions of the invited leaders and senior officials (in case the leaders are silent) to the invitation. 

Egypt

The president of Egypt Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi made a statement that is available on the presidential website of the Republic:

“I value the declaration by the BRICS group to invite Egypt to join its membership as of January 2024. We appreciate the confidence of all BRICS member states with whom we share robust relations. We look forward to cooperating and coordinating with them, and with the other countries invited to join the bloc, to achieve its goals toward strengthening economic cooperation among us and raise the voice of the Global South with regard to the various issues and development challenges we encounter in order to promote the developing countries’ rights and interests”

Ethiopia

The prime minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali published a statement on his official account on X (former Twitter):

“A great moment for Ethiopia as the BRICS leaders endorse our entry into this group today. Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order”

Iran

Having returned from the trip to South Africa, the president of Iran Ebrahim Raisi made a statement and commented on the membership of the Republic in such an alliance as BRICS:

“Our membership in the BRICS did not happen by chance, but was a policy chosen by the government to ensure the interests of the country and the people”

Saudi Arabia

His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, the minister of foreign affairs of Saudi Arabia, expressed the attitude of the government to the invitation during the interview with Al Arabiya TV: 

“We are awaiting details from the group on the invitation, the nature of the membership and its elements. Based on that and the internal measures, we will take the appropriate decision”

United Arab Emirates

The president Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made a statement on X (former Twitter), where he declared his perception of the alliance:

“We respect the vision of the BRICS leadership and appreciate the inclusion of the UAE as a member to this important group. We look forward to a continued commitment of cooperation for the prosperity, dignity, and benefit of all nations and people around the world”

Argentina

The president of Argentina Alberto Fernandez addressed the nation in a video speech: 

“We are taking a new step in the consolidation of a fraternal Argentina open to the world that we have always dreamed of”. 

He further  highlighted the importance of the invitation to the group:

“Argentina should not waste any instance of integration that serves to boost its growth”

Full membership of invited countries is said to take effect on January 1, 2024. 

Author:

Daria Sukhova