Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and expressed the desire to join BRICS.
The ministers met on Tuesday, June 4, in Beijing. At a joint press conference, Fidan stated that Turkey sought to expand its economic ties and saw BRICS to challenge the dominant structures of global governance led by the United States and Europe. He assessed BRICS as a valuable alternative to the European Union to improve economic prospects.
Certainly, we would like to become a member of BRICS. So we’ll see how it goes this year.
Turkey is currently in a customs union with the European Union. The country is also exploring new opportunities for co-operation with partners such as the BRICS. Despite efforts to join the EU nearly four decades ago, Turkey has faced obstacles on a variety of issues. Fidan argued that BRICS offered significant potential and could serve as a “good alternative” to the European Union.
During his visit, Fidan also reaffirmed Turkey’s support for China’s territorial integrity.
Turkey supports China’s territorial integrity and political sovereignty.
His trip includes plans to visit the cities of Urumqi and Kashgar in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
According to Reuters, Russia welcomed the news of Turkey’s desire to become part of the BRICS group of countries, which included Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Turkey’s inclusion would be on the agenda of the organisation’s next summit.
