Pakistan applies for Brics membership; seeks Russia's support: Envoy

Jamali said Pakistan has already applied for membership in BRICS-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and is set to expand next year with admission of 6 new members under Russian Presidency

Pakistan has applied for membership in the BRICS grouping and sought Russia's support, the country's envoy to Moscow Muhammad Khalid Jamali has said.

Pakistan has filed an application to join the BRICS group of nations in 2024 and is counting on Russia's assistance during the membership process, Russia's official TASS news agency reported on Wednesday quoted Jamali as saying.

Jamali said Pakistan has already applied for membership in the BRICS-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and is set to expand next year with the admission of six new members under the Russian Presidency.

Pakistan's application to join the BRICS came as the grouping of emerging economies was set for its biggest expansion with six new members under Russia's rotating Presidency in 2024.

This year's BRICS summit held in South Africa formally admitted Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as new members. They will formally join during the 2024 summit in Russia.

Jamali said Islamabad plans to join the group under Russia's presidency next year.

"Pakistan would like to be part of this important organisation and we are in the process of contacting member countries for extending support to Pakistan's membership in general and the Russian Federation in particular," he said.

The TASS report said that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in early October that BRICS plans to agree on a list of candidates for partner-state status ahead of the upcoming summit in Kazan in 2024.

While Pakistan, currently facing its worst economic and political crisis perhaps can count on the support of its all-weather ally China, it is to be seen how the other four members, Brazil, Russia India and South Africa would react to the proposal to admit Islamabad.

The five-member bloc first started as BRIC, (Brazil, Russia, India, China) which was formed after a meeting of its leaders on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006 in Russia and held its first summit in 2009.

It later became BRICS with the admission of South Africa and emerged as an influential organisation with the establishment of a bank of its own, called the New Development Bank (NDB) based in Shanghai.