Nine countries will officially join BRICS as partner states in January, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has said, adding that the economic group is open to like-minded partners.

The new ‘partner country’ status was approved at the BRICS summit in October, hosted by Russia in Kazan, and is intended to serve as an alternative to membership after more than 30 nations applied to join the organization. The status provides for permanent participation in special sessions of BRICS summits and foreign ministers’ meetings, as well as other high-level events. Partners can also contribute to the group’s outcome documents.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Ushakov emphasized the importance of the partner state status’ approval, saying that Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan will officially become BRICS partners from January 1. Confirmation is expected in the near future from four more countries, which were also invited to become partner states.

BRICS initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and was expanded earlier this year to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia has paused its process of joining BRICS because the necessary “internal procedures” for becoming a full member have not yet been completed, according to Ushakov, citing representatives from Riyadh.

The Kremlin aide highlighted that 35 applications to join BRICS in one status or another were received ahead of the Kazan Summit. “Some countries wanted to immediately receive full-scale participation, while others wanted to participate in individual events as observers,” he explained.

At the moment, more than two dozen countries are showing interest in cooperation with BRICS, according to Ushakov. The countries are Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Colombia, the Republic of Congo, Laos, Kuwait, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Syria, Chad, Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan.

Ushakov pointed out that the role of BRICS in international politics is growing. The group has also enhanced its authority in the sphere of economics and finance, as well as in responding to climate challenges and strengthening global food and energy security.