GHANA · DIPLOMACY
Key Facts
- —The country Ghana is a West African democracy on the Gulf of Guinea, known abroad for gold, cocoa and offshore oil, with Accra as its capital.
- —What happened Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Tuesday, 6 October, that President John Dramani Mahama’s Cabinet has approved Ghana’s BRICS bid.
- —Why it matters BRICS is an 11-member bloc of emerging economies, and US President Donald Trump has threatened extra tariffs on countries aligning with its “Anti-American policies”.
- —The numbers US goods trade with Ghana came to about US$2.5 billion in 2025, while Ablakwa puts Ghana’s trade with India at about US$7 billion.
- —What comes next Ghana must now apply formally and be admitted by the bloc’s existing members, which decide together.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket bettors give a 12.5% chance that any new country joins BRICS as a full member in 2026 (7 October, 1:06 a.m. ET).
- —Still open Ablakwa spoke of joining, but officials have not said whether Ghana would accept the lighter partner-country status first, or when it will apply.
Ghana’s Cabinet has approved a BRICS bid, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced in Accra on Tuesday, 6 October. The move could test ties with Washington, where President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on countries aligning with what he calls the bloc’s anti-American policies.
Ablakwa spoke at a joint press briefing with India’s External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, according to Graphic Online and Citi Newsroom. Ghana must now apply formally and win admission from the bloc’s current members.
What Ablakwa Announced in Accra
Ablakwa is foreign minister in the government of President John Dramani Mahama, who was sworn in on 7 January 2025. Mahama governs for the National Democratic Congress, a social-democratic party.
Ablakwa said he was disclosing the decision “to the Ghanaian people for the first time”, Citi Newsroom reported. According to Citi, he said Mahama’s Cabinet “has decided that Ghana will be joining BRICS”.
The state-run Ghana News Agency quoted the same remark as a decision that Ghana “should put in a formal application to join BRICS”.
He tied the BRICS bid to Mahama’s “New Economy” plan, which the government presents as a shift from stabilisation to growth. “To anchor the President’s new economic vision, we believe that we must diversify our international cooperation,” he said, according to Graphic Online.
He also cited resource sovereignty and Ghana’s wish to choose its own path, free of conditions from a few international institutions.
“We are now going to take baby steps to formally apply and to seek the support,” Ablakwa said. “You must be admitted.”
What BRICS Is and Who Belongs
BRICS began as a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China, formalised at a foreign ministers’ meeting in New York in 2006. South Africa joined in 2011, according to the official BRICS India 2026 website.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became members in 2024, and Indonesia in 2025. That brings the bloc to 11 members.
Ten partner countries, a tier below full membership, joined in 2025: Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. In Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa are members, while Nigeria and Uganda are partners.
India chairs BRICS in 2026 and hosted the 18th summit in New Delhi in September. The full list of BRICS members and partners shows how fast the bloc has grown since 2024.
Why Accra Wants New Partners
Ablakwa said Ghana’s trade with India has more than doubled, from around US$3 billion in 2024 to about US$7 billion now. He called China “a very major economic player” in Ghana.
“We value that relationship, but we must have new friends,” he said of Ghana’s traditional partners. BRICS, he added, gives Ghana “options” for its development agenda.
He stressed that Ghana remains a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He credited Afreximbank, the African Export-Import Bank, with about US$700 million in support during Ghana’s 2023 to 2024 financial crisis.
Jaishankar said India has “always been very sympathetic and supportive of Ghana’s aspirations and goals”. He added that the BRICS bid is “an issue of collective consideration” for the bloc.
What It Means for US Readers
On 6 July 2025, Trump threatened an “ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff” on “any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS”. He made the threat on his Truth Social platform, South Africa’s IOL reported.
The stakes are measurable. US exports to Ghana reached US$1.28 billion in 2025 and imports from Ghana US$1.22 billion, according to the US Census Bureau.
Trade has grown in 2026: from January to August, US exports to Ghana reached US$1.11 billion and imports from Ghana US$1.33 billion. That compares with about US$1.83 billion in both directions in the same months of 2025.
US companies are exposed too. Dallas-based Kosmos Energy, which also produces oil in the US Gulf of America, discovered Ghana’s offshore Jubilee oil field in 2007.
Washington also decides each year which African countries keep AGOA, the US African Growth and Opportunity Act. It gives eligible sub-Saharan countries duty-free access for more than 1,800 products, according to the US Trade Representative.
The US Trade Representative held its public hearing on eligibility for 2027 benefits on 23 July 2026.
Ablakwa insisted the move does not mean Ghana is walking away from its traditional partners.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, bettors put the chance that BRICS adds a new full member in 2026 at 12.5% (7 October, 1:06 a.m. ET). About US$38,000 has been bet on the question, which counts only new members, not partner countries.
The price has barely moved in a month, and no new bets had come in after Ablakwa announced the BRICS bid. A separate Polymarket bet that a member leaves BRICS in 2026 stands at about 8%.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
Ablakwa spoke of joining BRICS but did not say whether Ghana would accept partner-country status as a first step. He also gave no date for the formal application or for the Cabinet decision itself.
The fate of Ghana’s BRICS bid lies with the existing members, and Jaishankar called it a matter of “collective consideration”. It is also unclear how Washington will respond, or whether Trump’s 2025 tariff threat would apply to an applicant.
The BRICS bid does not mean Ghana is leaving the IMF or the World Bank, and Ablakwa said Ghana remains in both. The Ghana geopolitics guide gives background on Ghana’s foreign relations.
More: Ghana news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Ghana’s Cabinet approve?
It approved Ghana’s BRICS bid, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on 6 October 2026 in Accra. Ghana still has to apply formally and be accepted by the bloc’s current members.
Is Ghana now a member of BRICS?
No. Ghana has only decided to apply, and officials have not said whether it would accept partner-country status as a first step.
Which African countries are already in BRICS?
South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are full members. Nigeria and Uganda joined as partner countries in 2025, according to the official BRICS India 2026 website.
Could the move affect Ghana’s trade with the United States?
Trump threatened in July 2025 to add a 10% tariff on countries aligning with what he called the anti-American policies of BRICS. US goods trade with Ghana was about US$2.5 billion in 2025.
Why does Ghana want to join BRICS?
Ablakwa said the bloc offers Ghana economic options, more South-South cooperation and support for Mahama’s New Economy plan. He said Ghana will keep its traditional partners.
Sources: Graphic Online, 6 October 2026; Citi Newsroom, 6 October 2026; Ghana News Agency, 6 October 2026; BRICS India 2026 (official website), 7 October 2026; US Census Bureau, Trade in Goods with Ghana, 7 October 2026; Office of the US Trade Representative, AGOA, 7 October 2026; Kosmos Energy, Ghana operations, 7 October 2026; IOL, 7 July 2025; Graphic Online, Mahama sworn in, 7 January 2025; US Trade Representative, 2027 AGOA eligibility hearing, 7 October 2026; Kosmos Energy, contact (US headquarters), 7 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief