Ethiopia’s BRICS Membership: Geopolitical Opportunities with MENA — InfoBRICS [2025-11-25] - Lemmy
::: spoiler Expand article The founding members of BRICS assert that the group
represents the interests of “the global majority.” In this light, undoubtedly,
Ethiopia’s membership in such a group would enhance its posture on the global
stage. Among others, its accession helps the country to raise its critical
concerns in a multilateral forum, advocate for Africa’s interests, and
accelerate the realization of its Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to the
Johannesburg Summit, over 40 countries including Ethiopia expressed their
interest in joining the bloc. Yet, the summit adopted the request of only six
countries where Ethiopia was one of them. Succeeding membership in such an
intense competition, therefore, means a lot for Ethiopia’s global visibility,
particularly after the outbreak of the Northern conflict, which had previously
cast a shadow over the country’s international image. Traditionally, Ethiopia
has been known for its non-aligned movement and supporter of independence
struggles in Africa. It has also considered itself as the champion of
Pan-Africanism, promoter of African Solutions for African Problems, and to some
extent, pioneer of Afrabia frameworks. On the top of these achievements,
Ethiopia’s admission to the BRICS bloc provided a platform to show its
remarkable potential and engage with major superpowers, including China and
Russia. Apart from that, its accession opens a new window of opportunity for the
country to approach the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through the
BRICS framework. While approving the request of several MENA countries, in
relative terms, the Johannesburg summit enabled more homogenous countries to
join the group. From a geo-economic perspective, the newly joining BRICS members
are predominantly Oil Producing Countries with the exception of Ethiopia.
Consequently, in statistical terms, following the Johannesburg Summit, the
representation of the MENA region in the BRICS BLOC rose from Zero to nearly
one-third. In fact, some analysts criticized such BRICS expansion as “very
middle East Centric” and “OPEC dominated” while others preferred to call it
“BRICS plus OPEC”. Notwithstanding, Ethiopia’s entry into the BRICS bloc,
together with several MENA countries, is believed to create a strategic opening
to engage the MENA region more closely, thereby emboldening its diplomatic
relationship with member states. Ethiopia and the MENA Region Ethiopia occupies
a geopolitically strategic location in the Horn of Africa, located near to the
Red Sea Region. According to Professor Brook Hailu, such a geographical position
gives BRICS a gateway to project influence in Africa and the Middle East. In
particular, the inclusion of Ethiopia in the BRICS club paves the way to
cooperate on important matters with MENA countries. It is unfortunate, hitherto
institutional-based cooperation between Ethiopia and the MENA region seemed to
have been less promising, hindering the country from effectively utilizing those
existing geopolitical and geostrategic advantages in the region. Meanwhile,
sadly, Ethiopia’s arch-foe rival in the region, Egypt, has recklessly exploited
most of those MENA related organizations to downgrade Ethiopia’s national
interest. One of the most troubling aspects of Ethiopia’s exclusion from MENA
regional platforms is its denial of opportunity for sharing its views in the
MENA regional stage. This marginalization has been demonstrated during the GERD
dispute, for instance, when the Arab League expressed its concern over the water
security of Egypt. The League passed a resolution against Ethiopia several
times. In one of the resolutions, it informed the UN Security Council to take
“necessary measures”, claiming the presence of “a United Arab Position”. In
response, Ethiopia slammed the resolution, blaming the downstream countries for
unreasonable politicization of the GERD’s negotiations. In a similar vein, most
of the MENA regional organizations expressed their partisan concern.
Principally, upon Somalia’s call, the Arab League and the Organizations of
Islamic Cooperation rejected the Memorandum of Understanding, arguing it
violates Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity though the intention of
Ethiopia is totally contradict to such accusations. Importantly, had Ethiopia
been a member of MANA based regional organizations, the afore–stated baseless
accusations, and many others, would likely not have been directed at Ethiopia,
at least with the tone they have been communicated. Hence, Ethiopia’s inclusion
in the BRICS bloc, which comprises several MENA countries, can provide a
valuable platform for articulating its interests and fostering strategic
engagement through constructive dialogue. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations
Ethiopia’s accession to BRICS together with MENA countries could enhance its
connectivity with the MENA region, positioning it as a bridge between
Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world. Hence, its BRICS membership could create
a new diplomatic space, enabling the voice of Ethiopia to be heard equally with
others, such as Egypt. It should be noted that Ethiopia’s exclusion from the
MENA dominated regional organizations would hinder any potential cooperation,
affecting both parties. Being the only non-MENA country joined BRICS at the
Johannesburg Summit, Ethiopia needs to step on the following strategic action.
First, it should navigate the Golden-Mean when engaging potentially rival new
BRICS members, if any, while remaining mindful of the relative homogeneity among
MENA countries. Secondly, Ethiopia should also proactively engage existing MENA
affiliated regional organizations, seeking their neutrality or potential
mediation role, whenever appropriate. Suadiq Sufian (Ph.D.) is Senior Researcher
at the Institute of Foreign Affairs. Institute of Foreign Affairs Ethiopia ::: >
Ethiopia’s admission to BRICS in 2023 enhances its global visibility and
provides a strategic opening to engage the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region, where it has previously been excluded from regional platforms.
Membership, alongside several MENA countries, allows Ethiopia to articulate its
interests on an equal footing with nations such as Egypt. “Ethiopia’s inclusion
in the BRICS bloc, which comprises several MENA countries, can provide a
valuable platform for articulating its interests and fostering strategic
engagement through constructive dialogue.” Ethiopia must navigate the relative
homogeneity of MENA members while proactively engaging regional organizations to
seek neutrality or mediation where appropriate. ::: spoiler Additional coverage
from this source > India’s Ambassador: Ethiopia Brings ‘Knowledge and Expertise’
to BRICS — InfoBRICS [2026-02-16] [https://infobrics.org/en/post/82622/] > >
India’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Anil Kumar Rai, stated that Ethiopia is a very
important BRICS partner that brings knowledge and expertise across all aspects
of the bloc’s activities. “The country brings rich experience in the form of
green growth, urban renewal, green technologies; and also the leadership, which
is needed to ensure peace during the turbulent times.” Ambassador Rai noted that
India, as 2026 BRICS chair, is promoting innovation and an ecosystem for
developing countries, and that Ethiopia has been invited to participate in the
artificial intelligence impact summit. He also highlighted potential cooperation
in agriculture, digital public infrastructure, and financial services following
Ethiopia’s banking sector reforms. > Ethiopia in BRICS: Unlocking Development
Finance — InfoBRICS [2026-01-21] [https://infobrics.org/en/post/78698/] > >
Ethiopia’s BRICS membership offers measurable development opportunities through
the New Development Bank (NDB), which has approved $40 billion across 122
projects with no policy conditionalities, and through payment system integration
that reduces dollar vulnerability. Drawing on lessons from South Africa’s
15-year experience, Brazil’s strategic positioning, and Egypt’s first-year
outcomes, Ethiopia would be wise to submit 3-5 bankable NDB infrastructure
projects by end-2025, establish a BRICS Affairs Office, and integrate payment
systems to target “40-50% local currency trade by 2028.” The author concludes
that “with appropriate policy frameworks and implementation discipline, BRICS
mechanisms can materially contribute to infrastructure financing, technology
upgrading, and structural economic transformation.” :::
Italian News by RSS
DoomsdaysCW
African Music Forum (AMF)
A🔻atar of 🔻engeance
DJM (freelance for hire)
Mathieu Gotteland
A mixture of periodicals