•India welcomed Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia joining the BRICS as their representatives attended for the first time a key meeting of the grouping hosted by Russia.
•In August 2023, at the 15th BRICS Summit, in South Africa, 6 countries (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) were invited to join the bloc.
•However, the Argentine general election in November 2023 led to a change in president to Javier Milei, who withdrew the country’s membership application.
•The BRICS ministers have reiterated their commitment to multilateralism and upholding the international law.
•They voiced their support to reform UN and its Security Council, to make it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient.
