Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Iran and Ethiopia join BRICS. The five countries, along with Argentina, were invited during a summit held in Johannesburg last August to join the group.
While those countries agreed to join, Argentina I declined the invitation. The BRICS bloc was established in 2006, and held its first meetings in 2009. The group considers itself an alternative to Western economic hegemony, represented by the Group of Seven major countries, led by the United States. It also believes that the group will contribute to restoring balance to the global system, which it describes as outdated.