Pakistan seeks Russia's help to join BRICS as a member

• FO yet to comment on statement given by Pakistani envoy to Russia. 
• Envoy says Islamabad has filed an application to join BRICS.
• Pakistan hoping to join BRICS under Russian presidency in 2024.

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to join BRICS, Pakistan has sought the help of Russia to obtain membership in the organisation, reported The News on Thursday citing Pakistani envoy to Moscow Muhammad Khalid Jamali.

In comments given to the Russian news agency TASS, the envoy, who is yet to present his credentials to President Vladimir Putin, shared that Islamabad has filed an application to join BRICS and was counting on Russia’s assistance.

Jamali said Pakistan had already applied for the BRICS membership, which was set to expand next year with the admission of six new members. He added that Islamabad was hoping to join the group under Russia’s presidency next year.

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

The Foreign Office is yet to comment on the move. However, the publication reported that it would not have been possible that Jamali would have made the revelation without the FO’s knowledge.

In August of this year, BRICS — a coalition of emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — extended invitations to six countries including Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

This expansion boasts the group's standing as a robust geopolitical alternative to Western-led international forums.

The announcement took place during a summit hosted in South Africa in August of this year, a testament to the BRICS group's aim to neutralise the dominance of Western-dominated entities such as the G7 and the World Bank.

This expansion also aligns with the BRICS group's goal of promoting diversity in an increasingly polarised world, heightened by events such as Russia's actions in Ukraine and strained US-China relations.

However, Pakistan’s application comes at an interesting time as the country was blocked out of the summit held in South Africa this year.

Without naming the country, Pakistan confirmed in June that its invitation to a development dialogue held in China on June 24 was blocked by a BRICS member.