On Monday, December 23, Russia confirmed that several countries have agreed to become partner states of BRICS, with their official membership starting on January 1, 2025. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov shared that nine countries have shown interest in joining the organisation.

BRICS recently invited 13 countries to a summit in Kazan, where they unveiled a new partner category. Russia, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan are among the nine nations that have indicated their interest in joining the club, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters. Starting from January 1, 2025, they will officially become partner states of BRICS.

Ushakov also mentioned that responses from four more countries are expected soon. He added that Eritrea has expressed interest in working with BRICS. Furthermore, he said that partner countries will be invited to attend specific BRICS summits, foreign ministers' meetings, and other forums, where topics such as security and parliamentary issues will also be discussed. "We also believe it is right to involve partners in meetings of high representatives in charge of security issues, parliamentary forum and other events," the Kremlin aide stated. 

"On the eve of the summit in Kazan, we received 35 applications to join BRICS in one condition or another," he said, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti. "Undoubtedly, one of the most important results of the summit was the establishment of the category of BRICS partner countries and agreement on a list of 13 countries. Proposals were sent to these countries. "To date, Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Thailand, Malaysia, Uganda and Uzbekistan have confirmed their readiness to become BRICS partner states," Ushakov told a briefing, adding that these countries will officially become BRICS partners from January 1, 2025.