BRICS to announce new full members in coming weeks

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Russia Pakeer Mohideen Amza has said that in his address to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed the country's desire to join the BRICS group.

"Sri Lanka has expressed its interest in joining the BRICS family in a letter from President Anura Dissanayake to President Vladimir Putin," he emphasised, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

The authorities have also reached out to other BRICS members, requesting to join as a partner country, the ambassador added. 

He clarified that the Sri Lankan president sent the letter to his Russian counterpart in October 2024.

Moreover, Secretary of Asia and the Pacific at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry Eduardo Saboia has said that a list of countries that will become full members of BRICS will be announced in the coming weeks.

"These countries must feel welcome as members of the BRICS family. This is one of the priorities of our BRICS presidency in 2025. BRICS partners will participate in foreign ministers' meetings and, as we expect, will attend the summit," Saboia said.

He noted that the announcement regarding the accession of partner countries will be made in the coming days.

The diplomat also added that BRICS' push for increasing the number of permanent members of the UN Security Council is driving the further expansion of the bloc, and Brazil will support this decision. 

"If we advocate for the reform and expansion of the UN Security Council, it makes sense for us to expand BRICS as well," he emphasised.

Russia is the chair of BRICS in 2024. A key event during Russia's presidency was the BRICS summit held in Russia’s Kazan city from October 22 to 24. In addition to the main BRICS members, leaders and representatives from many countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America participated in the events. Starting January 1, 2025, the presidency will pass to Brazil.

Earlier, Russian President's Assistant Yury Ushakov said that one of the key outcomes of the summit in Kazan was the establishment of a new category for BRICS partner countries, along with the agreement on a list of 13 nations that received corresponding invitations.

Confirmations of readiness to become BRICS partner countries have been received to date from Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan, he said, adding that starting January 1, 2025, these countries will officially acquire the status of BRICS partners. The BRICS group was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining the coalition in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, and Ethiopia became new members of BRICS.

By Naila Huseynova