Russia welcomes Pakistan's bid to join BRICS — Russian Deputy Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD, September 18. /TASS/. Russia welcomes Pakistan's bid to join BRICS, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said at a press conference following talks with Pakistan's First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
"We are glad that Pakistan has applied [for membership]. BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are friendly organizations. We will support this," he said.
"Over the past year, we have seen a significant expansion of BRICS, and countries from all over the world are showing great interest in joining. We have very good relations with Pakistan," Overchuk added.
Earlier, in an interview with TASS, Pakistan's Ambassador to Russia Muhammad Khalid Jamali said that the republic had applied to join BRICS.
BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa joined in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia became full members of the association. This year, Moscow is presiding over the association. The BRICS summit will be held in Kazan from October 22 to 24.