On 1 January 2024 the BRICS group completed its first enlargement since South Africa joined in 2010. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates became full members following the decision taken by the leaders at the Johannesburg summit in August 2023. Saudi Arabia, also invited, has taken part in BRICS events without formally confirming its membership. Argentina, the sixth invited country, declined the invitation.
The same day Russia assumed the rotating chairmanship for 2024 under the motto «Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security». The chairmanship programme announced more than 200 events, including ministerial meetings on education, culture and science, the BRICS Academic Forum and a renewed BRICS Culture Festival.
For the academic and cultural community the enlargement means that the BRICS space now extends to Africa's second most populous country, the oldest universities of the Arab world and the scientific schools of Iran and the Gulf. The Alliance regards these countries as a natural field for new partnerships between academies, universities and cultural institutions.
Source: BRICS Russia 2024 — official chairmanship website — https://brics-russia2024.ru/en/
Retrospective publication. The news is published in the Alliance's feed at the date of the event; the link to the source is given as text and is not active.