Ethiopia applies to join BRICS group — Foreign Ministry

Ethiopia hopes for a positive decision on its application to join BRICS member states, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Meles Alem said, Azernews reports, citing TASS.

"We expect BRICS will give us a positive response to the request we have made," the ENA news agency quoted him as saying at a media briefing. The diplomat noted that Ethiopia had officially applied to join the alliance.

Earlier, official requests to join BRICS were filed by Algeria, Bangladesh and Egypt. BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have already expressed interest in joining the group. In 2023, the chairmanship of the alliance was passed from China to South Africa.

The BRICS Summit is scheduled for August 22-24 in Johannesburg. South African Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said at a press briefing that in the near future, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa would complete consultations with BRICS leaders on the details of holding the summit.