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BRICS has in fact widened, rather than deepened. In 2010, at China’s urging, South Africa joined, adding the “S” to the BRIC acronym. More recently six more states have entered: Egypt, Ethiopia. Iran, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia (although it is not entirely clear whether this last country has formally joined). In addition, there are ten BRICS “partner” countries, ranging from Bolivia to Belarus, which may eventually join (although for the time being the entry of new members seems frozen).