The BRICS economic coalition of emerging countries on Thursday extended membership invitations to six nations, South African President and current BRICS chair Cyril Ramaphosa said.

The BRICS alliance — which is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has unanimously approved Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to join, Mr Ramaphosa said in a speech published on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.

“BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous,” Mr Ramaphosa said at the ongoing summit in Johannesburg.

The new candidates will be formally admitted as members on 1 January, 2024.

A combined 23 countries formally applied for BRICS membership, including the six that Mr Ramaphosa said we’re approved. Other major African players, such as Nigeria and Ghana, have expressed informal interest, CNBC reported.

Mr Ramaphosa and Brazilian President Luiz Silva left the door open to the possibility of admitting other new members in future.

“We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow,” Mr Ramaphosa was quoted as saying at a media briefing.

Mr Silva said globalisation’s promises had failed, adding that it was time to revitalise cooperation within developing countries as “there is a risk of nuclear war”, Reuters reported.

China’s President Xi Jinping said Thursday that the expansion is a “new starting point for BRICs cooperation.”

“It will bring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism, further strengthening a force for world peace and development,” Reuters quoted him as saying at a press briefing.

United Arab Emirates’ President Mohammed bin Zayed, whose country is already a member of the bloc’s New Development Bank (NDB), said he appreciated the inclusion of his country as a new member.