Cairo, Ankara and Riyadh are planning to apply to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Izvestia reported this on Thursday, citing Purnima Anand, President of the BRICS International Forum.
"All these countries have shown their interest in joining and are preparing to apply for membership. I think this is a good step, because expansion is always perceived positively, it will obviously strengthen the influence of BRICS around the world," Anand said.
According to her, it shouldn't take long for these countries to join the alliance. She also said that discussions and a possible decision on the accession of some of the five states, which include Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, can be expected as early as the next summit.
"I hope that the accession of the BRICS countries will happen very quickly, because now all the representatives of the nucleus of the association are interested in expanding. So it will happen very soon," believes Anand.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: FAS
Based on materials from TASS