This development was announced during the ongoing BRICS summit taking place in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24, 2024.
Nigeria's entry follows a remarkable increase in foreign capital inflows from BRICS countries, which surged by 189% in the first half of 2024, amounting to $1.27 billion, compared to $438.72 million in the same timeframe in 2023.
Alongside Nigeria, the 12 additional nations that have joined as partner countries include Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
These nations, including Nigeria, have been designated as partner countries rather than full members.
A post on X (former Twitter) from the bloc on Wednesday read, “BRICS officially adds 13 new nations to the alliance as partner countries (not full members).”
This follows the full membership granted to Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates in January 2024.
These four nations participated in their inaugural BRICS summit as full members during the 2024 meeting held in Russia.
BRICS was originally established by Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) in 2009, with South Africa joining in 2010, leading to the rebranding of the alliance to BRICS.
The primary objective of the organization is to promote trade, investment, development, security, and collaboration among prominent emerging market economies.
The 2024 summit, themed “Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security,” represents the bloc’s sixteenth annual meeting and aims to enhance economic integration with significant emerging nations.
In November of the previous year, Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar indicated that Nigeria intends to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc within the next two years and to join the G20 group of nations.
The Minister emphasized that Nigeria meets the criteria for joining organizations like BRICS and G20, highlighting the size of its economy and population as suitable qualifications.
Last year, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, attended the BRICS summit in South Africa but did not advocate for membership when the bloc welcomed new members, including two from Africa—Ethiopia and Egypt.
In September of this year, Tuggar reiterated the country’s aspiration to join BRICS, an influential economic coalition that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Tuggar clarified that while Nigeria has not yet submitted a formal application to join BRICS, the country plans to do so “at the right time.”
He noted that joining the bloc is indeed a priority for the Bola Tinubu administration.