Member states of BRICS

Partner states are a new category for integration of prospective members, introduced in 2024 at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, the Russian Federation. These countries are observer states that are not yet officially part of the BRICS bloc. These observer states prove themselves as partners before further integrating as a member, similar to the accession process of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. ==Nations that have applied for membership==

While Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates were not admitted as members during the 15th BRICS summit, they were among 22 countries applying for membership. South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said, “There is a second batch of countries that are going to be added [to] BRICS." This means that there are plans for further BRICS expansion, and the following countries are possible candidates due to their membership applications. Previous applicants In 2022, Argentina formally applied for BRICS membership under Alberto Fernández's government. Argentina was invited to join the subsequent 2023 summit, but the country declined the offer to join the bloc in the aftermath of Javier Milei's victory in that year's presidential election. Saudi Arabia was also invited to join at the 2023 summit, with full membership was scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2024. However, Saudi Arabia did not join BRICS at the start of 2024 as had been planned, and it announced in mid-January that it was still considering the matter. As of May 2025, the matter is still under consideration. Algeria had previously applied for membership in 2023, but later rejected it in September 2024, making Algeria the second country after Argentina to decline and stop its application. During the 2024 BRICS summit, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not granted partner country status due to Brazil blocking their applications. Brazil’s veto of Nicaragua comes after the countries cut diplomatic ties by expelling each others ambassadors after the Brazilian ambassador failed to attend a celebration of the Sandinista revolution, while Brazil's veto of Venezuela was largely due to the disputed 2024 Venezuelan elections and the ongoing Venezuelan crisis. Venezuela recalled its ambassador from Brazil in response. Pakistan applied for membership in 2023, but it has been opposed by India due to strained diplomatic relations. Certain experts have additionally stated that a key factor for refusal of membership is due to Pakistan's economic instability. == Overview ==