* Turkish central bank to hike policy to 20% - Poll

* Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and UAE invited to BRICS

* China allows Ethiopia to suspend debt payments in 2023/24

* India, Mexico central bank minutes on tap

* EM stocks up 1.5%, currencies add 0.4%

Aug 24 (Reuters) - Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - on Thursday invited six new members to join the bloc, while the Turkish lira was muted ahead of a rate decision later in the day.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join BRICS at a time when geopolitical polarisation is spurring efforts to forge it into a viable counterweight to the West.

"We are seeing the emergence today of a new geopolitical reality and a much closer cooperation in the global South in response to what has happened post the Russian invasion into Ukraine and the Western sanctions," said Jakob Ekholdt Christensen, senior EM fixed income strategist at BankInvest, adding that it is a medium term story for the economies.

"Clear that it is about strategic partnership and access to resources, notably oil," Christensen added.

"China, Brazil and India will benefit in terms of easy access to oil, and Argentina and notably Iran will benefit in terms of access to markets and FDI."

Summit host South Africa's rand shed 0.8% against the dollar on the final day of the BRICS meet in Johannesburg, after sharp gains in the previous session.

The Russian rouble steadied at 94.3 per dollar as a favourable month-end tax period approached, but domestic uncertainty was high following the possible death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, in a plane crash.

China's yuan crawled higher against the dollar as the central bank continued to fix the daily mid-point at stronger-than-expected levels, while the offshore market was caught by a short, sharp liquidity squeeze.

China stocks rebounded as some investors bought the dip following recent slumps, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closing 2.1% higher, while a rally in global markets also helped as U.S. Treasury yields retreated and Nvidia's blockbuster results lifted risk appetite.

The Turkish lira was unchanged ahead of a rate decision due at 1100 GMT.

Turkey's central bank is expected to raise its policy rate to 20% this week, a Reuters poll, though some economists expect a smaller increase after hikes in previous months remained below expectations.

The Indian rupee and stocks treaded water ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting minutes due later in the day.

The minutes of the Mexican central bank's most recent monetary policy were also due later in the day, along with inflation figures for the first half of August.

China will allow Ethiopia to suspend payments on debt that is maturing in the 2023/24 fiscal year under a framework set up by the Group of 20 economies, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said.

(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru)