One last step before full membership? Algeria is officially a ” partner member ” of the BRICS alliance. The announcement was made on the night of Wednesday 23 to Thursday 24 October, during the BRICS+ summit currently taking place in Kazan, Russia, bringing together nine countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Iran.
BRICS added these 13 countries as “ partner members ” and non-full members. Algeria was added along with 12 other countries, the BRICS official Twitter account announced. The other countries are Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The BRICS bloc of countries accounts for 26.2% of global GDP, almost equivalent to the economic power of the Group of Seven (G7). Moreover, the bloc positions itself as a competitor to Western countries economically and geopolitically.
Algeria and Nigeria are the only two African countries to appear on this list of BRICS partner countries. Morocco is said to be interested in joining, but South Africa, a founding member of the alliance, is opposed to it according to Moroccan media. Relations between the two countries are tense, particularly because South Africa supports the independence of Western Sahara.
Last August, Algeria had already been admitted as a member of the BRICS bank, the New Development Bank (NBD), created in 2015. However, its membership in BRICS had not been accepted in 2023. The announcement of its integration as a ” partner member ” could pave the way for full membership in the coming months.
