Argentina has formally withdrawn from the expansion of the BRICS bloc. President Javier Milei has sent letters to BRICS leaders to formalize his decision to withdraw his country from its planned entry into the alliance of major emerging economies. Milei during his election campaign, noted that "our geopolitical alignment is with the United States and Israel. We are not going to ally with communists." The president also promised to cut ties with major trading partners, China and Brazil, despite the growing investment of the former in South America.
BRICS is made up of G20 nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In August announced it was admitting six new members.
The membership of Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates was due to take effect from January 1, 2024.
The BRICS nations currently account for about 40% of the world's population and more than a quarter of the world's GDP, with as many as 14 nations mostly from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East interested in joining the bloc.
