The year 2025 will be a landmark year for BRICS. After being decided at the Kazan summit last year, the category of partner countries will make its debut at this year's summit, which will be held in Brazil.
The importance of this key year for the anti-hegemonic group and the priorities of the Brazilian presidency were the themes of this Monday's (6) episode of Mundioka, a Sputnik Brasil podcast presented by journalists Melina Saad and Marcelo Castilho.
New year, new members#10DaysToTrump
During the 2024 BRICS Summit, held in the Russian city of Kazan, it was decided by members to establish this new membership category for countries wishing to join the multilateral group.
In total, 13 countries were invited to join the BRICS partner country position.
According to the Russian president's adviser on international affairs, Yuri Ushakov, nine have already completed the accession process and became BRICS partners on January 1: Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia and Uzbekistan.
Speaking to the program, Cassio Zen, a doctor in international law from the University of São Paulo (USP) and researcher at the BRICS Study Group (GEBRICS), highlighted that in recent years the group of countries has established itself as a place where regional powers can overcome their differences.
"It is historic for us to think that this expansion of BRICS included countries that are rivals among themselves and that are now together in this partnership that is significant for the world today."