Indonesia has joined as a formal member of the BRICS at the 17th summit of the organization in Rio de Janeiro.
10 countries that include Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Cuba, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Uganda, and Thailand have also joined the group as partner nations.
“We welcome the Republic of Indonesia as a BRICS member, as well as the Republic of Belarus, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Cuba, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Uganda, and the Republic of Uzbekistan as BRICS partner countries,” a statement by the BRICS said.
What Did PM Modi Say?
During a discussion on ‘Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance’ on Sunday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated that the BRICS members have increased.
PM Modi said that the increase in BRICS membership shows that it can evolve with the times and urged the reformation of global bodies like the United Nations Security Council, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and multilateral development organizations.
He added that technology transforms every week in the era of Artificial Intelligence, and as such, it’s “unacceptable” that global institutions haven’t been reformed for eighty years.
“You can’t run 21st-century software on 20th-century typewriters,” he was quoted as saying.
BRICS also witnessed an expansion in 2024 when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE joined the organization as member countries.
Focus Of BRICS members
Earlier, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in his speech that BRICS is the modern version of the Non-Aligned Movement, a reference to the Cold War era, when a section of developing countries refused to join either the US or the USSR and pursued independent paths.
Lula added that “BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement.” He also claimed that multilateralism is being attacked and added that the “autonomy is in check” again.
He also spoke about the threats of increasing protectionism in a polarized world.
China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit in person.
India is scheduled to host the next summit of BRICS in 2026.
(Inputs from ANI)
Also Read: BRICS Summit: EAM S Jaishankar Meets Sergey Lavrov In Rio, Discusses India-Russia Ties
