BRICS: Saudi Arabia, Iran and 3 Others Join the Bloc

The BRICS Group has just welcomed new members including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and a few other nations as it charts a rare expansionary move.

BRICS Group Doubles Down on Expansion

South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor stated that Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have confirmed their interest in joining the BRICS Group. This comes a few months after the 2023 BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa where an invitation was extended to the aforementioned countries including Argentina by the bloc. 

Unlike the nations that just accepted the invitation, Argentina outrightly turned down the offer, a move contributed by the recent change in the country’s administration. Specifically, Argentina’s President, Javier Milei through his Foreign Minister declined the invitation from BRICS.

“Argentina has written to indicate that they will not act on this successful application by the previous administration to become full members of BRICS, and we accept their decision,” Pandor added.

Milei’s decision to reject the BRICS invitation is in fulfillment of the promise made during his campaign. In the run-up to his ascension into office, the pro-Bitcoin politician pledged to shut down Argentina’s Central Bank and dollarize the economy. This plan encompassed slashing spending by at least 13% of GDP before mid-2025. 

The Argentine president intends to achieve this feat by imploring strategies like downsizing public works, reducing the number of ministries, and removing subsidies and capital restrictions. In this regard, he has been making so much effort since he assumed office. After a few days as the sworn-in President of Argentina, Milei implemented the devaluation by slashing the fiat currency’s value by 50% concerning the USD. 

The De-Dollarization Agenda Unfolding

Ultimately, the BRICS Group is focused on breaking the dominance of the United States Dollar as the global reserve currency.

Opening its doors to more countries with similar interests is one way in which members of the BRICS Group believe that the bloc would achieve its agenda. With more countries, BRICS stands the chance of controlling more economic thresholds, especially with oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia. 

Between a few countries in the BRICS bloc, international trade has started taking place. Last year, India and UAE redefined trade ties as the rupee replaced the dollar in the crude oil transaction, signaling the BRICS de-dollarization agenda. 

Milei backtracking from joining BRICS is evident as he is pro-America when the other nations in the alliance are not.