BRICS welcomes new partner countries

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin has announced that Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia officially became partners of the BRICS group during a joint meeting of APEC foreign ministers and trade ministers.

"The BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan city demonstrated the global majority's commitment to establishing a fair world order, reforming global institutions, and building equitable economic ties. A solid package of agreements was signed in areas including trade, investment, artificial intelligence, energy and climate, and logistics. Our APEC colleagues—Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand—have joined BRICS as partners," Pankin stated, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Following the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the list of partner countries for the group has been finalised. However, the full list of countries has not been disclosed yet. As the Russian leader explained, invitations will first be sent to these countries, and only after receiving positive responses, the final list will be made public.

BRICS was founded in 2006, originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the group in 2011. Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia officially became full members on January 1, 2024.

By Naila Huseynova