BRICS to Expand with 10 New Members at Kazan Summit in October

Sep 29, 2024, 03:03 AM

The upcoming 16th BRICS summit, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia, next month, will see significant expansion with around 10 new members joining the economic bloc. Originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and later joined by South Africa in 2010, BRICS currently encompasses 30% of the world's economy. The first wave of expansion will include a dozen countries, as confirmed by Belarus' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maksim Rizhenkov. Notably, Saudi Arabia and Guinea-Bissau have been invited to join the bloc. Guinea-Bissau's Foreign Minister, Carlos Pereira, confirmed the invitation for the summit in October. The expanded BRICS will account for 41% of global oil production and 35% of consumption.