Pakistan has applied to join BRICS Plus

By Rhod Mackenzie

Pakistan may join the BRICS economic alliance in the upcoming year, as affirmed by the newly appointed Ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, in an interview with TASS news agency on Wednesday.

He revealed that the country has already submitted its application for membership and hopes to receive Russia's aid in the admission process. Notably, Russia is set to assume the chairmanship of BRICS in 2024.

"Pakistan aspires to join this significant organization and is presently reaching out to member nations, including the Russian Federation, for endorsing Pakistan's membership," stated the ambassador.

BRICS currently encompasses Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and may potentially include Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in January. According to analysts' estimates, the expanded BRICS+ is already economically larger than the G7, a group comprising industrialized and developed countries including the USA, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan.

To date, over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, as per South Africa, the chair in 2023. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov announced in early October that BRICS intends to draft a list of potential candidate states for the union's partner-state status before the upcoming 2024 summit in Kazan. The official stated that, during Russia's BRICS chairmanship, member nations will prioritise broadening the "circle of BRICS friends," including nations situated in Latin America.

In an interview with the China Media Group last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that the expansion of BRICS rested on the global multipolarity principle. Putin conveyed that countries do not want to operate on the sidelines and bend to the will of "some sovereign"; instead, BRICS provides a platform where nations can create relationships based on equality.
( Pakistan is currently a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)