As of 1 January 2025, several countries will join the BRICS group as partner states, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The creation of this new category was agreed during the BRICS summit held in October in the Russian city of Kazan. As of next year, the group will be joined by the following partner countries:

• Belarus
• Bolivia
• Indonesia
• Kazakhstan
• Cuba
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Uganda
• Uzbekistan

The Russian Foreign Ministry also indicated that four more countries have been invited to join BRICS as partners.

«We plan to establish close cooperation with the partner states in order to involve them as effectively as possible in cooperation within the group,» the Russian ministry concluded.

(With information from RT in English)