Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt intend to join BRICS, and their potential membership bids could be discussed and answered at next year’s summit in South Africa, according to Purnima Anand, President of the BRICS International Forum.
“All these countries have shown their interest in joining (BRICS) and are preparing to apply for membership. I believe this is a good step, because expansion is always looked upon favourably, it will definitely bolster BRICS’ global influence,” Anand told Russian newspaper Izvestia.
The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) account for more than 40% of global population and nearly a quarter of global GDP. According to RT, the bloc’s stated goals include promoting global peace, security, development, and cooperation, as well as contributing to humanity’s development.
Anand stated that the issue of expansion was discussed at this year’s BRICS summit, which was held in late June in Beijing.
According to RT, the BRICS Forum President expressed hope that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt will join the alliance soon because they are “already engaged in the process,” but she doubts that all three will join at the same time.
“I hope that these countries will join the BRICS quite shortly, as all the representatives of core members are interested in expansion. So it will come very soon,” Anand added.
The news of the three countries’ plans to join the BRICS follows the official applications for membership by Iran and Argentina in late June, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh hailing the bloc as a “very creative mechanism with broad aspects.”
