«One of the important results of the summit [in Kazan] was the establishment of the category of BRICS partner countries and coming to terms on a list of 13 states. Invitations were sent to these states. As of this time, confirmations of readiness to become a BRICS partner country have been received from Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan,» he said.
«From January 1, 2025, they will officially acquire the status of BRICS partner states,» Ushakov went on to say. «But we expect that in the near future responses will come from four more countries, to which invitations were also sent.» The Kremlin aide added that Eritrea is also seeking to work with BRICS.
Representatives of partner countries will be invited to certain meetings at BRICS summits and meetings of foreign ministers.
«We also believe it is right to involve partners in meetings of high representatives in charge of security issues, parliamentary forum and other events,» the Kremlin aide said.
Ushakov noted that more than 20 states, in addition to the selected partner countries, are showing interest in a systemic dialogue with the BRICS group.
«The doors of the association remain open to like-minded countries. At the moment, over two dozen more countries have shown interest in a systemic dialogue with BRICS: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Laos, Kuwait, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe,» he said.
«It is clear that uncontrolled expansion of our association would break its backbone. We believe that we need gradual, harmonized and accurate steps. Like those we have been taking throughout our chairmanship,» Ushakov concluded.
.-T A S S: ITAR-TASS is the news agency that inherited the services and networks of the former Soviet TASS. It was established in 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when it wa srenamed TASS.
