ETHIOPIA, one of Africa’s rapidly growing economies, has formally requested to join the BRICS bloc of emerging markets, as announced by the foreign ministry on Thursday.
The term ‘BRIC’ was originally coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to represent the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These four countries had their inaugural summit in 2009 in Russia, and South Africa joined the bloc in 2010.
‘We expect BRICS will give us a positive response to the request we have made,’ stated Meles Alem, foreign ministry spokesman, addressing journalists, according to the state-run news agency ENA. He also emphasised that Ethiopia will continue to collaborate with international institutions that safeguard its interests.
Ethiopia, with
the second-largest population in
Africa, currently ranks 59th in the world economy, according to the IMF. Its economy is still smaller than the smallest BRICS member, South Africa.
The desire to join the BRICS bloc comes as Argentina, the 23rd-largest economy globally, received China’s formal support to join the group last year. BRICS is perceived as a powerful emerging-market alternative to the traditional Western-dominated economic landscape.
Amid speculation surrounding the next summit, South Africa confirmed that it will host the upcoming BRICS summit in August as planned. There had been conjecture that the summit might be moved to a location where Russian President Vladimir Putin would not face the possibility of being arrested over war crimes accusations.
Combined, the BRICS countries account for more than 40 percent of the world’s population and about 26 percent of the global economy. Ethiopia’s potential inclusion in the bloc could further strengthen the economic collaboration and influence of the emerging markets group.
