Ghana wants a foothold in BRICS before committing to full membership, choosing a gradual approach that could broaden its diplomatic options without immediately tying it to the grouping's competing geopolitical interests.
Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on October 10 that President John Mahama's government had approved seeking partner-country status as a first step towards joining the bloc, whose members include China, India, Russia and Brazil.
"We want to start as a partner country, and then we will gradually progress into full membership as the situation evolves," he told TV3's The KeyPoints programme.
The distinction matters. Ghana announced its intention to join BRICS on October 6 without specifying the form of membership. Partner status would give Accra a voice in selected diplomatic discussions, but neither the decision-making powers of full members nor automatic access to financing from the New Development Bank (NDB), which has a separate membership process.
BRICS has 11 full members and 10 partner countries, including Nigeria and Uganda. Ghana would become the 11th partner if admitted. Cabinet has approved pursuing that status, and Accra has sought India's support, but officials have not publicly confirmed submitting a formal expression of interest to India, which holds the BRICS presidency in 2026. Admission requires an invitation approved by consensus among the bloc's full members.
The government's approach also addresses a concern raised by the opposition. Samuel Abu Jinapor, the ranking member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, called for parliamentary scrutiny on October 8 and questioned why Ghana was not considering partner status, as Nigeria had done. His criticism preceded Ablakwa's clarification two days later. Jinapor warned that closer engagement could have implications "which may be adverse to the national interest of our country".
Nor is the idea entirely new. Ablakwa said former President Nana Akufo-Addo's administration had considered BRICS membership in 2023, citing a committee recommendation to "express interest in joining". The documents have not been independently authenticated, and there is no evidence that the previous government formally applied.
The larger question is what Ghana would gain beyond diplomatic access. International relations analyst Elvis Botah warned that BRICS ties would deliver limited economic benefits without an industrial strategy built around domestic processing, technology transfer and manufacturing.
"One thing government must be mindful of is that if we must proceed, we should enter BRICS with an industrial strategy, not just as another diplomatic ambition," Botah said in comments published by 3News on October 10.
The geopolitical risks are less theoretical. Nana Attobrah Quaicoe, a former director-general of Ghana's Bureau of National Intelligence, cautioned in an October 11 commentary for Citi Newsroom that closer engagement could expose Ghana to sanctions-related financial risks involving Russia and Iran.
Ghana already has substantial economic links with BRICS members, whether or not it joins the grouping. Merchandise trade with China reached $14.1bn in 2025, while Beijing introduced zero-tariff treatment for qualifying Ghanaian exports in May 2026, independently of any BRICS arrangement. In September, the two countries also agreed to deepen mining cooperation involving geological surveys, technology transfer and mineral processing.
See IntelliNews: Ghana, China expand mining cooperation as Accra targets illegal gold mining
Western relationships remain important to that economic calculation. US-Ghana goods-and-services trade reached $4.6bn in 2025, while the EU-Ghana interim Economic Partnership Agreement provides preferential access for qualifying exports to European markets. Ablakwa said EU member states had been consulted before Ghana announced its BRICS intentions.
For Accra, partner status offers a way to test the potential benefits of BRICS engagement without immediately seeking full membership. Whether it produces more investment, industrial development or trade opportunities will depend less on the diplomatic designation than on the agreements Ghana can negotiate with individual members.