Azerbaijan has submitted a formal application to join BRICS, a group of emerging economies led by China and Russia, Ayxan Hajizada, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Baku, said by telephone on Tuesday.
Vladimir Putin arrived in Baku on a two-day state visit the previous evening. He held talks with Ilham Aliyev in both narrow and extended formats, following which he said, among other things, that Russia and Azerbaijan are working on establishing a joint university in Baku.
On August 18, the republic’s ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu said that Azerbaijan is interested in joining BRICS. According to him, there is a big queue of countries willing to join the organisation. He added that Baku has already discussed the possibility of expanding the association with Moscow. Now this issue is in the works, Bulbuloglu specified.
On 3 July, Azerbaijan officially expressed its desire to join BRICS at the summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in Astana.
BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Russia. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, UAE and Saudi Arabia joined BRICS on January 1, 2024. Earlier, it was reported that Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, the State of Palestine, Senegal, Thailand and Venezuela also submitted official applications to join the association.
