Saudi Arabia provides an update on BRICs membership status
Riyadh is actively contemplating the possibility of joining BRICs, with official discussions currently taking place, according to the kingdom’s economy minister. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
The oil-rich kingdom is still assessing whether to join the bloc, the economy minister has said.
Saudi Arabia is currently evaluating the possibility of joining BRICS, according to the Gulf nation’s minister of economy and planning, Faisal Al-Ibrahim, in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday.
The economic bloc, which was established in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, saw South Africa join two years later. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates officially became full members starting January 1, 2024.
“We’ve been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we’ve been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically,” the Saudi economy minister stated on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made and right now, we are in the middle of that.”
Al-Ibrahim highlighted that Riyadh is “always focusing on fostering more global dialogue.”
The kingdom, along with five other nations, received an invitation to join the group during the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August 2023. Notably, Argentina declined the invitation after President Javier Milei opposed the move, reversing the decision of his predecessor, Alberto Fernandez.
READ MORE: Azerbaijan’s envoy to Moscow comments on BRICS aspirations.
Last month, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced that the group had conferred ‘partner state’ status on Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan, which took effect at the start of the year.
This partner status, established at the most recent BRICS summit hosted by Russia in Kazan in October 2024, is designed as an alternative to full membership, following applications from over 30 countries. Holders of this status can permanently participate in special sessions of BRICS summits, ministerial meetings, and other high-level events. While they can contribute to the group’s outcome documents, they do not participate in the approval process or voting.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
Saudi Arabia is currently evaluating the possibility of joining BRICS, according to the Gulf nation’s minister of economy and planning, Faisal Al-Ibrahim, in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday.
The economic bloc, which was established in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, saw South Africa join two years later. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates officially became full members starting January 1, 2024.
“We’ve been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we’ve been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically,” the Saudi economy minister stated on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made and right now, we are in the middle of that.”
Al-Ibrahim highlighted that Riyadh is “always focusing on fostering more global dialogue.”
The kingdom, along with five other nations, received an invitation to join the group during the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August 2023. Notably, Argentina declined the invitation after President Javier Milei opposed the move, reversing the decision of his predecessor, Alberto Fernandez.
READ MORE: Azerbaijan’s envoy to Moscow comments on BRICS aspirations.
Last month, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced that the group had conferred ‘partner state’ status on Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan, which took effect at the start of the year.
This partner status, established at the most recent BRICS summit hosted by Russia in Kazan in October 2024, is designed as an alternative to full membership, following applications from over 30 countries. Holders of this status can permanently participate in special sessions of BRICS summits, ministerial meetings, and other high-level events. While they can contribute to the group’s outcome documents, they do not participate in the approval process or voting.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
