The Brics group of nations has invited the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and Argentina to join the bloc, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.
The debate over expanding the membership of the bloc, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has topped the agenda at a three-day summit in Johannesburg, which concludes on Thursday.
While all Brics members have expressed support for expanding the bloc, leaders are divided over procedures for expansion and how quickly membership should be enlarged.
We respect the vision of the Brics leadership and appreciate the inclusion of the UAE as a member to this important group
President Sheikh Mohamed
“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.
He said the new members would be formally admitted on January 1.
President Sheikh Mohamed has praised the move.
“We respect the vision of the Brics leadership and appreciate the inclusion of the UAE as a member to this important group,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We look forward to a continued commitment of co-operation for the prosperity, dignity and benefit of all nations and people around the world.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country had “always fully supported the expansion of Brics”.
“India has always believed the addition of new members will further strengthen Brics as an organisation and give our shared efforts a new impetus.
“This will also strengthen the belief of many countries in the world in a multipolar world order. I am pleased our teams have together agreed on guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures for the expansion.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister told Al Arabiya TV on Thursday that the kingdom appreciated the invitation by Brics to join the group and would study the details before the proposed January 1 joining date and take “the appropriate decision”.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Brics was “a beneficial and important channel” to strengthen economic co-operation.
Earlier in the day, Prince Faisal said the kingdom was looking forward to closer co-operation with Brics member states.
“The kingdom is keen to exercise its responsibilities to sustain international co-operation,” he said.
Riyadh is “moving forward achieving the goals of sustainable development” and working to stabilise energy markets, he added.
Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the invitation confirmed the country's “growing role in the global economy” and in a more inclusive system that “takes into account the interests of emerging economies in the global south”, the ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on X.
An expanded Brics, which was formed in 2009, would add more major oil producers to the bloc and boost its economic clout.
China and Russia have also pushed for its expansion in an effort to counter western powers.
The addition of its more members may also give it more sway in world affairs and may lead to a different type of global economy.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, Mohammed Jamshidi, said the decision was a “strategic success” and a historic development for Iranian foreign policy.
Mr Raisi is in South Africa for the summit but has yet to comment on the decision. South Africa is an ally of Iran and is its largest trading partner on the continent.
Mr Raisi has recently undertaken trips to other African nations to forge closer ties.
A report from Iran's state-run Irna outlet voiced hopes the decision may benefit sanction-hit Tehran through access to the New Development Bank, which offers an alternative to the Swift payment system.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the decision to admit the six nations had been unanimous.
“Brics countries are all countries with important influence and shoulder important responsibilities for world peace and development,” he said.
“This membership expansion is historic. It shows the determination of Brics countries for unity and co-operation with the broader developing countries.”
The expansion is a “new starting point” for Brics co-operation and will bring new vigour to the bloc, the Chinese leader said.
“I am confident, as long as we work with a common purpose, there is a lot Brics co-operation can achieve and the future will be bright for Brics countries.”
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Cairo looked forward to “raising the voices” of countries in the Global South.
“I appreciate Egypt being invited to join Brics and look forward to coordinating with the group to achieve its goals in supporting economic co-operation,” he said.
Ethiopia hailed the decision as a “great move” for the country while Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brics needed to increase co-operation amid the threat of nuclear conflict.
“It is time to revitalise co-operation with developing countries as there is a risk of nuclear war,” he said after the announcement.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE SIXTH SENSE
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Director: M. Night Shyamalan
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
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Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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