Ghana will formally apply to join BRICS after President John Dramani Mahama’s Cabinet approved the move, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Tuesday.
Ablakwa said the government was preparing its application and would seek the support of existing BRICS members, as Accra looks to diversify its international partnerships and expand opportunities for investment, industrialization and economic development.
Ghana has already approached India for support. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who was visiting Accra, said India understood Ghana’s interest and supported its aspirations, while noting that the application would require consideration by all BRICS members.
Ablakwa said joining BRICS would complement, rather than replace, Ghana’s existing relationships with traditional development partners.
“We are not going to walk away from our traditional partners who value that relationship, but we must have new friends,” he said.
He said the government sees BRICS as offering Ghana additional options for development financing and international economic cooperation, while supporting its broader agenda of job creation, industrialization and greater value addition to the country’s natural resources.
BRICS currently has 11 full members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia became a full member in January 2025.
The grouping began as BRIC, bringing together Brazil, Russia, India and China, before South Africa joined in 2011. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE joined in 2024, followed by Indonesia in 2025.
Ghana’s application would therefore come amid the bloc’s broader expansion and its efforts to strengthen cooperation among countries of the Global South.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.