On the last few days of the Russian BRICS Presidency, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Nigeria were announced as ‘partner countries’ of the group as of January 1st, 2025. The adhesion inaugurated the modality created during the Kazan Summit, in October 2024. Over 30 nations have already expressed their interest in participating in the BRICS, either as members or partners.

BRICS partner countries

Partner countries are invited to participate in the Summit and the Foreign Ministers' meeting and may join other discussion sessions within the forum, subject to consultation and consensus among member countries. These nations may also endorse BRICS Summit Declarations, BRICS Foreign Ministers' Joint Declarations, and other final documents.

The process of admission as a ‘partner country’ of BRICS is carried out in stages. First, informal consultations are conducted by the rotating presidency, following criteria such as geographic balance and maintaining good diplomatic relations with all group members. Next, the group's leaders decide by consensus to invite countries to join the ‘partner country’ category. Once the consultations are concluded, the announcement of new partners is made as they accept the invitation.