The BRICS groups of emerging economies has invited Iran and five other countries to join the bloc in a the meeting currently held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that the BRICS member states agreed to admit Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia as new members.

The five current member states have reached a “consensus on the first phase of this expansion process” and have invited the six states to become new members of the BRICS group from January 1, 2024, he said at the group’s leader’s summit in Johannesburg.

Reacting to the news, Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, said Iran’s full membership in BRICS is a “historic development” and a “strategic success” for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic.

“Felicitations to the Leader of Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] and the great nation of Iran,” Jamshidi said via X, formerly Twitter.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the expansion of BRICS will inject new impetus to the group’s cooperation mechanism.

This expansion has reflected BRICS’ determination for unity and cooperation, Xi said at the summit.

The group was formed by and initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which collectively represent around 40% of the global population and a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Iran was among dozens of countries that sought membership in BRICS and had submitted a formal application to join the body.

Iranian President Raisi arrived in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital, on Thursday morning to attend a summit of the BRICS countries.

“BRICS has managed to bring together independent countries with the common goal of [bolstering] economic cooperation and countering unilateralism,” he said on Wednesday evening before his departure.