BRICS invites six countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran to be new members

The BRICS group of nations has decided to invite six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - to become new members of the bloc, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said today.

The debate over expanding the BRICS bloc,comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has topped the agenda at a three-day summit in Johannesburg ending on Thursday.

While all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, there were divisions among the leaders over how much and how quickly.