Its state television of Saudi Arabia announced today that the kingdom has joined the group of countries BRICS. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister had said in August that the kingdom would study the details ahead of the proposed January 1 accession date and will make “the appropriate decision”.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the BRICS grouping is a “beneficial and important channel” to strengthen economic cooperation.
The BRICS group, which until now included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will double its membership with the addition of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran and of Ethiopia as new members.
Saudi Arabia's inclusion comes amid geopolitical tensions between the US and China and China's expanding influence within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, despite continuing strong ties with the United States, is increasingly going its own way as it worries that Washington is less committed to Gulf security than in the past.
China, Saudi Arabia's biggest oil customer, is leading efforts to expand the BRICS grouping to become a counterweight to the West.
The expansion may boost the group's stated ambition to become a leader in the southern hemisphere, although Argentina announced in November that it would not accept an invitation to join the BRICS group.
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
