Kazan Summit to review Azerbaijan's bid to join BRICS

Azerbaijan's application to join the BRICS group is expected to be reviewed at the organisation’s upcoming summit in Kazan scheduled for October 2024.

First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov noted that a decision on Azerbaijan's membership could be made at the summit, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

According to Dzhabarov, Azerbaijan has cultivated strong relationships with nearly all BRICS member countries and pursues an independent foreign policy that has drawn criticism from Western nations, including the United States and France.

He also suggested that other countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) might seek membership in BRICS in the future.

Azerbaijan officially submitted its application to join BRICS on August 20, 2024. The news was shared on the BRICS's official X account, highlighting the country's growing international ambitions.

In July, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana, Azerbaijan and China signed a Joint Declaration establishing a strategic partnership. The declaration included Azerbaijan's intent to join BRICS, which China supported.

BRICS, established in 2006, is an intergovernmental organization that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

In 2006, Brazil, Russia, India and China created the BRIC group. South Africa joined in 2010, making it BRICS.

The group was designed to bring together the world's most important developing countries, to challenge the political and economic power of the wealthier nations of North America and Western Europe.