Nigeria officially joins BRICS as partner country

BRICS has officially expanded its alliance, adding 13 new nations as partner countries, though not as full members.

The announcement was made during the BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24, 2024.

The countries are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

With the announcement, Nigeria officially joins the BRICS as a partner country.

BRICS, originally an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, expanded in 2010 to include South Africa.

The group has since added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as full members, all of whom attended this year’s summit as full participants.

The organisation aims to foster trade, investment, development, security, and cooperation among leading emerging market economies.

The 2024 summit, themed “Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security,” marked the 16th annual gathering of the bloc, with a focus on enhancing economic integration with key emerging nations.

A post on X (formerly Twitter) from the bloc on Thursday read, “BRICS officially adds 13 new nations to the alliance as partner countries (not full members).”

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Eche Abu-Obe, on Thursday, confirmed to The PUNCH that Nigeria is a partner in BRICS.

“Yes. It is true that Nigeria joined BRICS as a partner,” he said.

Nigeria’s inclusion as a partner country aligns with previous statements in November 2023 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who expressed the country’s intention to join BRICS as a full member within the next two years, leveraging its large economy and population.