The BRICS Are a New Opportunity for Argentina: Fernandez

On Thursday morning, President Alberto Fernandez announced to his fellow countrymen that Argentina had been accepted as a new member of the BRICS, the economic cooperation group composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

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"Being part of the BRICS means joining a bloc that currently represents 24 percent of the global output," he stated, adding that Argentina's inclusion in the BRICS reaffirms the country's commitment to integration.

"We are going to play a significant role in a shared destiny. We continue to strengthen our fruitful relationships with other countries. Argentina has been, is, and will be an integrationist nation. Seeking integration is a national policy," he remarked.

"We want to seize this opportunity for the benefit of Argentinians and, especially, for those in greatest need. At the core of our foreign policy lies the international projection of a peaceful, friendly, realistic, and dignified nation," Fernandez emphasized.

"Being part of the BRICS strengthens us and does not exclude other forms of integration. It does not interfere with Argentina's proud membership in the United Nations system."

Fernandez recalled that Argentina formally applied for BRICS membership in 2022, during President Xi Jinping's temporary presidency of this economic cooperation group.

"We did so with the conviction that the BRICS serve as a necessary political and economic platform in the face of an unstable and inequitable world... We want to be part of the BRICS because the challenging global context lends the bloc unique relevance, positioning it as a significant geopolitical and financial reference," the Argentine president remarked.

The BRICS play a decisive role in shaping a global financial architecture amid a "scenario marked by the crisis of the multilateral system, the slowdown of the global economy, shocks to supply chains, widespread inflation, and unsustainable external debts, all of which contribute to greater social inequality and a deepening gap between northern and southern countries," he explained.