The UAE's entry into the BRICS group is in line with the country's economic interests and its foreign policy objectives, said Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president.

“We are increasingly orientated towards the geo-economic aspects of foreign policy. This is reflected in the priorities towards BRICS and other international structures that our country seeks to join,” the official told during a special session of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

He noted that the Emirates are mainly interested in building bridges and expanding existing contacts.

BRICS currently comprises 10 states. Since its founding in 2006, the association has gone through two waves of expansion. In 2011, South Africa joined the original membership of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and in August 2023 invited six new members: Egypt, Iran, Argentina, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. Argentina subsequently declined to join the group, while the five remaining countries became part of it from 1 January 2024.