Nine New BRICS Partner Countries From January 1, Four Pending, and 24 Applications

Nine countries will officially join BRICS as partner states in January, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has said, adding that the economic group is open to like-minded partners.

The new “Partner Country” status was approved at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October, after more than 30 countries applied to join the organization. Partner country status differs from full membership in the organization, suggesting smoother integration without compromising efficiency, and also allows states not to commit to absolutely all BRICS components. It provides for continued participation in special sessions of BRICS summits and foreign ministerial meetings, as well as other high-level events. Partners can also contribute to the group’s outcome documents.

Ushakov emphasized the importance of the partner state status’ approval, saying that that 35 applications to join BRICS in one status or another were received ahead of the October Summit, stating “Some countries wanted to immediately receive full-scale participation, while others wanted to participate in individual events as observers.”

Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan will officially become BRICS partners from January 1. Confirmation is expected in the near future from four more countries – Algeria, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkiye, who were also invited to become partner states. These are exactly the thirteen countries Russia’s Pivot to Asia predicted would become BRICS Partners at the time. Our original report, containing demographics of each of these countries, can be seen here.

In an update concerning Saudi Arabia’s process of joining BRICS, this has been delayed because the necessary internal procedures for becoming a full member have not yet been completed, according to Ushakov, citing representatives from Riyadh.

Another 23 countries are showing interest in cooperation with BRICS, according to Ushakov. These are Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Kuwait, Laos, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Palestine, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

Ushakov said that the role of BRICS in international politics is growing. The BRICS group has enhanced its authority in global economics and finance, as well as in responding to climate challenges and strengthening global food and energy security.