Ethiopia wants to join Brics: Expert unpacks pros and cons

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping. PHOTO | AFP

A few years ago, the Brics grouping – Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa – had lost salience because three of its members were in severe economic difficulty. Brazil, Russia and South Africa are primarily natural resource exporters and were badly affected by the global commodity price bust of 2014.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now given Brics a new geopolitical salience as the members and their respective allies respond to events.