By Kolawole Ojebisi
Brazil has formally announced Nigeria’s admission as a partner country in the BRICS alliance, triggering excitement and reactions.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry made this known in a statement on Friday.
With this acceptance, Nigeria became BRICS’ ninth partner country, joining Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
The statement reads: “The Brazilian government welcomes the Nigerian government’s decision.
“With the world’s sixth-largest population—and Africa’s largest—as well as being one of the continent’s major economies, Nigeria shares convergent interests with other members of BRICS.
“It plays an active role in strengthening South-South cooperation and in reforming global governance—issues that are top priorities during Brazil’s current presidency.”
BRICS, an acronym formed from the first letter of the pioneering countries making up the organisation, originally comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The alliance began to expand after more countries started seeking to join the group of leading emerging economies.
The alliance’s partner-country category was created at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024.
During the summit, reports indicated that Nigeria had indicated interest to join and had formally forwarded her application for consideration as a partner country.
