The Cuban government has made a formal request to join BRICS as a partner state, Carlos Pereira, director general for bilateral relations at the republic’s foreign ministry, said on Tuesday.
The request was made in a letter to Vladimir Putin as president of the country chairing BRICS in 2024. Pereira wrote on X:
“Cuba has officially sent a request to join BRICS as a partner country through a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chairs the group that consolidates as a key player the global politics and hope of the Global South.”
The next BRICS summit will be held in October 22-24 in Kazan. In addition to the heads of the organisation’s member states, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Mongolia and Bolivia are planning to attend the summit. Russian Ambassador to Cuba Viktor Coronelli said that the Cuban delegation has also been invited to attend the summit.
BRICS was formed in June 2006 with the participation of Brazil, Russia, India, China and was originally called BRIC after the first letters of the names of the founding countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China). Later, South Africa joined the association and it became known as BRICS.
Malaysia and Azerbaijan submitted official applications to join BRICS in 2024. Turkey has also applied for full membership in the association. Currently, the association includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.
