UAE President says he appreciates inclusion of his country in BRICS

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said he appreciated the inclusion of his country as a member of BRICS and described it as an "important group".

Taking to his social media platform X, Sheikh Mohamed said he "respected the vision of the BRICS leadership".

"We look forward to a continued commitment of cooperation for the prosperity, dignity and benefit of all nations and people around the world," he wrote.

We respect the vision of the BRICS leadership and appreciate the inclusion of the UAE as a member to this important group. We look forward to a continued commitment of cooperation for the prosperity, dignity and benefit of all nations and people around the world.

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) August 24, 2023

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, added that the decision is a reflection of the country's remarkable leadership and successful international policy.

"It also consolidates the UAE's international economic and trade position as a reliable partner linking the world's north with its south and east with west," he wrote.

الموافقة على انضمام دولة الإمارات لمجموعة البريكس اليوم يمثل نجاحاً لسياستها الدولية المتوازنة بقيادة أخي صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد رئيس الدولة حفظه الله..
كما يمثل انضمام الدولة لهذه المجموعة امتداداً لفلسفتها القائمة على بناء شراكات دولية ايجابية متعددة الأطراف، ويرسخ…

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) August 24, 2023

As part of the first phase of expansion, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE have been invited to join BRICS.

They will be formally admitted as members on January 1, 2024. 

The BRICS group of nations currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The new candidate members were announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting a summit of BRICS leaders.

"As a five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures on the BRICS expansion process which has been in discussion for quite a while," Ramaphosa told a joint media briefing.

"We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow."