Ethiopia has officially requested to join the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, according to their Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The BRICS is a five-member bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Meles Alem, stated that they expect a positive response to their membership request.
“We have applied for membership to BRICS. We expect BRICS to give us a positive response to the request we have made,” Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Meles Alem.
He emphasized the importance of joining blocs like BRICS to protect Ethiopia’s national interests. As one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and with the second-highest population on the continent, Ethiopia aims to leverage its position in global institutions such as the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to strengthen its engagement with BRICS.
“Ethiopia is a country that has been a founding member of global institutions like the AU and the UN. We seek to guarantee our national interests, hence it is important to join blocs like BRICS,” he said.
Ethiopia’s economy has been experiencing significant growth. This is highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook. The IMF also revised its forecast for Ethiopia’s GDP in 2023 to $156.1 billion.
While Ethiopia’s economy is smaller than that of South Africa, it is still considered a major player in Africa. South Africa is currently the smallest BRICS member.
Several other countries, including Egypt, Algeria, and Bangladesh, have also expressed interest in joining the BRICS bloc.
Additionally, Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have also indicated their desire to join the alliance. South Africa, as the current BRICS chair, announced that more than 19 countries have shown interest in becoming members.
The BRICS bloc was initially formed in 2009 as BRIC with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. It represents approximately 40% of the world’s population and a significant portion of global GDP.
The annual BRICS summit is scheduled to be held in Pretoria, South Africa, in August 2023. France has requested to be invited to this summit.
