♦ Nigeria officially became a partner state of the BRICS group. The announcement was made by Kimiebi Ebienfa, acting spokesperson for Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs.

♦ BRICS was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, with South Africa added in 2010, as a counterweight to the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations.

♦ Nigeria becomes the ninth BRICS partner country, joining Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

♦ In 2024, the group added Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join.

♦ Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few others have expressed interest.