After 12 years, the BRICS family welcomes new members. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Iran and Ethiopia are invited to become members of the BRICS family, effective from January 1 next year, the special press conference of the 15th BRICS Leaders' Meeting announced Thursday. At this point, the "BRICS" members have grown from four at the beginning to 11 now, a total of two expansions.
The current system of global governance largely took shape in an era when developed countries accounted for a major share of the world economy and global growth. Today, emerging markets and developing countries account for about 40 percent of the world economy and are already engines of global growth. Given this, we need a comprehensive reform of the global governance system to reflect the growing importance of less developed countries.
Membership expansion is a new starting point for BRICS countries and for the world. What the Global South needs is not a small exclusive group, but an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world with lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.
Almost all BRICS member countries come from the cradle of ancient civilizations. This expansion will undoubtedly promote mutual learning among civilizations and promote the exploration of a more inclusive and civilized development model for human society, which is completely different from the law of the jungle imposed by the West on the world.
The agreement reached by the BRICS countries on membership expansion is enough to show that no matter how the international situation changes, the original intention and common vision of cooperation will not change. The BRICS countries do not trade principles, do not yield to external pressure, and do not become vassals of other countries. The addition of six new members is a testament to this and will inject new vitality into global governance.