BRICS announces membership expansion

(ECNS) -- The 15th BRICS Summit announced membership expansion at a press conference on Thursday morning local time in Johannesburg, South Africa.  

"We've reached an agreement to invite Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become full members of BRICS. The membership will come into effect from January 2024," said South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Current BRICS countries include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.