Nigeria officially joins Brics as partner country, seeks international collaboration

Nigeria officially became a partner state of the BRICS group, a group of emerging-market powers that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The announcement was made on Saturday by Kimiebi Ebienfa, acting spokesperson for Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs.
The joining of the African country comes as BRICS continues to expand its influence, with recent additions such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group now also counts Malaysia and Thailand among its partner states.

With its growing reach, BRICS is seen as a potential challenger to the dominance of the US dollar in global oil and gas trade as per the news agency Bloomberg.

In a statement, the Nigerian government expressed its commitment to the group, saying, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has accepted the invitation to join BRICS as a partner country. The formal acceptance to participate as a partner country underscores Nigeria’s commitment to fostering

international collaboration

, leveraging economic opportunities, and advancing strategic partnerships that align with Nigeria’s development objectives.”
The release added that the country would be using the group to advance shared goals in trade and investment, energy security, infrastructure development, technology and climate change.
It went on to highlight the economic advantages for Nigeria, noting that BRICS provides a unique platform for boosting trade, investment, and socio-economic ties with member nations.
Despite being Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria is struggling with high inflation rates. To address fiscal challenges , the government plans to introduce new rules aimed at simplifying its tax system.
At present, Nigeria's tax collection falls among the lowest globally, as per the World Bank.