Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was attending the Brics summit in South Africa, called the decision “a great moment for Ethiopia”.

It is one of two African countries (Egypt is the other) that will become a member come January. In total six nations were invited, the other four were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Iran.

It is not clear whether any deals were made in order for them to join the bloc, which is currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and aims to challenge perceived Western dominance in world affairs.

“History is made,” Redwan Hussien, Mr Abiy’s security adviser, wrote on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

There is hope among some commentators that the move could improve investor perceptions about Ethiopia.

Its image has been tarnished by the brutal two-year civil war in its northern Tigray region. It ended last November, but there are also recurrent conflicts in other areas.

Previously a strong US ally in the war on terror across the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia’s relations with the West have deteriorated as accusations of grave rights abuses emerged during the Tigray conflict.

Aid and economic support from the West, on which Addis Ababa depended heavily, has decreased as a consequence.

It appears there is hope that Brics membership will strengthen Ethiopia’s position, meaning the West might downplay such accusations in future.

Joining the club, some say, might also give Ethiopia a better footing when it comes to negotiating loans and financial aid as the West might fear the country’s increasingly alignment with China.

Addis Ababa has been one of the largest recipients of economic support from China in the past decade as it was one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. The civil war however has slowed the growth and left the country’s economy in difficulties.