NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s recently appointed Ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, revealed during a recent interview that Pakistan has submitted a membership application to join the BRICS group of nations in 2024. This information was reported by the Russian news agency TASS.
Originally formed in 2010, the BRICS union comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. During its most recent summit in South Africa in October, the BRICS group made the decision to extend invitations to six additional countries to join their alliance.
Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE have received invitations to join BRICS, with their membership slated to commence on January 1, 2024. As per reports from TASS, the Pakistani diplomat announced that the country has formally submitted its application for BRICS membership. Ambassador Jamali affirmed Pakistan’s intention to actively engage within the group under Russian chairmanship, starting in 2024.
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“Pakistan would like to be part of this important organisation and we are in process of contacting member countries for extending support to Pakistan’s membership in general and Russian Federation in particular,” the ambassador added.
In 2020, Russia served as the chair of the group before India assumed the role in January 2021, holding the presidency until December 2021. India’s BRICS Chairship was characterised by the theme and approach of ‘BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation, and Consensus.’
BRICS unites five of the most substantial developing nations globally, comprising approximately 41 per cent of the world’s population, about 24 per cent of the global GDP, and around 16 per cent of worldwide trade.
In preparation for the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, southwest Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov announced in early October that BRICS intends to finalise a roster of candidates eligible for partner-state status.
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Ryabkov previously mentioned that under Russia’s leadership in the BRICS group, there will be a particular emphasis on broadening the “network of BRICS allies,” with a specific focus on Latin America.
“We should let more countries join the BRICS family to pool wisdom and efforts to make global governance more just and equitable,” Chinese President Xi Jingping said.
While Muhammad Khalid Jamali of Pakistan provided an interview to TASS, there haven’t been any official confirmations regarding Pakistan’s application to join BRICS.