Russian Federation Council: 40 countries want to join BRICS

More than 40 states claim to join BRICS, the number of such countries is increasing every month, said the head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin during a briefing.

"More than 40 states are applying for BRICS membership. And every month the number of such countries is increasing. This shows that such a free, flexible form of interaction through BRICS is very attractive," the politician said.

He noted, referring to the opinion of other representatives of the association, that there should be no hurry to create a rigid charter of the group.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the countries that joined BRICS in 2024 are already contributing to the work of the association in all major areas. At a meeting with representatives of the parliamentary committees on international affairs of the member countries of the association, he said that the involvement of a wide range of developing countries in interaction with BRICS will contribute to further consolidation of efforts of the world majority to solve common problems.

In July 2023, South African diplomat Anil Sooklal, ambassador-at-large for Asia and BRICS and BRICS Sherpa in South Africa, claimed that the expansion of BRICS with countries wishing to join the group could lead to more than 50 countries joining.

BRICS has gone through two waves of expansion since its founding in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the original membership of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and in August 2023 invited six new members: Argentina, Egypt, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Argentina subsequently declined to join the group and the five remaining countries became part of the group from 1 January 2024.