Brics opens membership to six new countries: Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have all been invited to join the Brics group, Reuters reported, citing a statement on Thursday by South African President and Brics Chairman Cyril Ramaphosa. The question of expansion had topped the agenda for the three-day Brics summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, the newswire wrote.

Not everyone was on the same page, however: Negotiations between member states on the question of expansion reportedly “went into the eleventh hour,” Reuters wrote separately. Despite all member countries publicly expressing a willingness to grow the bloc, there were significant differences in terms of who to admit and when. Attempts to reach a consensus were also complicated by considerable differences between member nations in terms of economic scale and foreign policy stance. The body’s decision-making process, which gives each member state de facto veto power, also stalled efforts to reach a consensus, the newswire wrote.

China + Russia were strongly for expansion: China — the bloc’s most powerful member — levied strongly for expansion as it looks to challenge the West’s economic dominance globally. Moscow was also keen to admit new partners as the Putin administration looks to break out of the isolation imposed on it due to the war in Ukraine, Reuters explained.

India + Brazil were less keen: India is wary of growing Chinese influence within the bloc, and both Brazil and India have been striving for better relations with the West and are therefore opposed to efforts that will see the platform positioned as a counterweight to the US and G7, Reuters reported. India’s misgivings had led to delays in negotiations as the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi came up with last-minute changes to proposed requirements for future members.

Iran is happy: Brics’ decision to admit Iran was received with great enthusiasm by Iranian policymakers. In a statement, the Iranian president’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Affairs Mohammad Jamshidi referred to the step as “historic” and as a “strategic victory” for Iran.

What will happen to BRICS’ name? Nothing, probably. Brics — an acronym originally coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill — will probably not change its name to reflect new members, a South African diplomat told Russia’s TASS news agency. “Everyone knows Brics,” the diplomat said.

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