Ethiopia in an Era of Expanded BRICS: A Brief Look at Ethiopia’s Entry and Experience within the Organization

Abstract

It has been one year since the Ethiopia was given the opportunity to join BRICS. The 2023 Heads of State Summit in South Africa expanded to incorporate new member countries from Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. This article seeks to examine Ethiopia’s interests in terms of joining the club and its experience following integration. After collecting the relevant data through document analysis and interview, the authors found out that, firstly, Ethiopia joined BRICS after making a foreign policy calculation with regards to its diplomatic goal of the diversification of friendly nations and groupings as well as amassing investment and trade opportunities. Secondly, within the country, people are divided between those who favor joining the alliance and those who oppose it, though never hinders the government from operating within BRICS. Thirdly, within a year, Ethiopia has gained experience of BRICS’ internal operation system.