The country joins the list of 8 other nations announced as Brazil’s trading partners
The Brazilian government announced this Friday (17 January 2025), Nigeria’s accession as a BRICS partner country. The country joins the list of 8 other nations, expanding the representation of the bloc that already includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
“Being the 6th largest population in the world and the 1st on the African continent, in addition to one of the largest economies in Africa, Nigeria has convergent interests with the other members of the group, actively acting in strengthening cooperation in the Global South and reforming governance global, priority themes for the current Brazilian presidency”, says the note from Itamaraty.
Read the list of countries that joined the bloc:
- Cuba;
- Bolivia;
- Belarus;
- Uganda;
- Thailand;
- Malaysia;
- Nigeria
- Uzbekistan; and
- Kazakhstan.
Brazil assumed the rotating presidency of the bloc on January 1st. At the helm of the group, Brazil will seek to promote global governance reform and sustainable development with social inclusion.
The inclusion of new members was defined in October 2024, at the 16th BRICS summit, in Kazan (Russia), when the bloc’s new category of partners was created.
In addition to the founding members, Brics already had Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Indonesia as part of the central core.
Saudi Arabia, despite being invited, remains an observer. The government clarified that partner countries are invited to summits and meetings of foreign ministers, and can join other spaces for discussion after consultation and decision by consensus of members.
The Kazan summit signaled Brics’ openness to new partnerships, inviting 12 countries to this type of association. Nigeria, Türkiye and Vietnam, despite being invited, have not yet formalized their membership.
The Brics consensus policy prevents the inclusion of new countries without the unanimous approval of members, which was reflected in the Brazilian veto on Venezuela’s entry, due to its troubled relations with Brazil.
