Tunisia Plans to Join BRICS Nations

Tunisian President Kais Saied (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tunisian President Kais Saied (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Tunisia Plans to Join BRICS Nations

Tunisian President Kais Saied (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tunisian President Kais Saied (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tunisia said on Saturday that it intends to join the BRICS countries bloc of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Mahmoud bin Mabrouk, spokesman for the pro-presidential July 25 Movement in Tunisia and pro-Tunisian President Kais Saeid, said his country plans to join the BRICS nations bloc.

“We will accept no dictates or interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs. We are negotiating the terms, but we refuse to receive instructions and the EU’s agenda,” said bin Mabrouk in remarks to the Arab News Agency.

Tunisian President Kais Saied had earlier expressed rejection of what he described as “dictates” of the International Monetary Fund to grant Tunisia $1.9 billion in loans.

Mabrouk described the BRICS nations as “a political, economic and financial alternative that will enable Tunisia to open up to the new world.”

He stressed that Tunisia's accession to the group would give it major economic gains, which would positively affect the social conditions in the country.

In 2018, Tunisia signed an agreement to join the "Belt and Road" initiative, which was established by China in 2013.

Bin Mabrouk went on to say: "After Algeria announced that it will join the group, we will also announce our intention to join BRICS."

Alegria had earlier announced plans to join the BRICS group next year.



Sudan Army Says Khartoum State ‘Completely Free’ of RSF

Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Army Says Khartoum State ‘Completely Free’ of RSF

Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)

The Sudanese army said on Tuesday that it had completely pushed its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) out of Khartoum state, nearly two months after it regained control of the capital's center.

"Khartoum state is completely free of rebels," army spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a statement, referring to the RSF.

The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 when the military and the RSF turned against each other in a struggle for power.

Their battles spread from Khartoum to around the country. At least 20,000 people have been killed, but the real toll is probably far higher.

Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. Half the population of 50 million faces hunger.