Pakistan applies for BRICS membership in 2024; banks on Russia's support
Pakistan has formally submitted its request to become a member of the BRICS group of nations in 2024, with the expectation of receiving support from Russia throughout the accession process.
FollowPakistan has formally submitted its application for membership in the BRICS Group of Nations Union in 2024, as per a recent interview with Pakistan's newly appointed Ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, reported by the Russian news agency TASS. Originally comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), the league of developed and developing nations was established in 2010. During the last summit in South Africa in October, the BRICS group decided to extend invitations to six additional countries for alliance membership.
Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join BRICS, with their membership set to commence on January 1, 2024.
Ambassador Jamali affirmed in the interview that Pakistan has already submitted its application for BRICS membership. He further confirmed Pakistan's intention to be part of the group under Russian chairmanship in 2024.
"Pakistan would like to be part of this important organization 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 told the Russian news agency.
Russia chaired the BRICS group last in 2020, with India assuming the role in January 2021 and holding the presidency until December 2021. The overarching theme and approach during India's BRICS Chairship were centered around 'BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation, and Consensus.'
BRICS serves as a collaborative platform for the five largest developing countries globally, collectively representing approximately 41 percent of the world's population, around 24 percent of the global GDP, and approximately 16 percent of global trade.
In anticipation of the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan, located in southwest Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov announced in early October that BRICS intends to reach a consensus on a list of candidates for partner-state status. Ryabkov had previously emphasized that, during Russia's chairmanship of the BRICS group, particular emphasis will be placed on broadening the "circle of BRICS friends," with a focus on Latin America.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed the need to welcome more countries into the BRICS family, aiming to unite wisdom and efforts for a more just and equitable global governance. Despite the interview given by Pakistan's Muhammad Khalid Jamali to TASS, there have been no official reports confirming Pakistan's application to join BRICS.
