Venezuela will join BRICS in the near future, said the President of the Latin American republic, Nicolas Maduro, in an interview with the Venezolana de Televisión TV channel.

“The old world with its colonial complexes, the G7 with its colonial complexes, 500-600 years of interventions, genocide, wars and superiority complex - and BRICS, the new world that already exists and is irreversible,” Maduro said. “The trend of the emergence of a new world and the consolidation of BRICS is irreversible, and Venezuela will soon join BRICS.”

Earlier, the head of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, Ivan Gil Pinto, also stated that this Latin American republic is striving to become a member of the association.

As he noted, his country's candidacy is strongly supported by Brazil, China, South Africa and Russia. Moscow said it welcomes Venezuela's interest in joining BRICS. Since January 1, 2024, the Russian Federation has chaired the association and has already announced that it will support the desire of its partners to cooperate and actively interact with BRICS.

  • Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

  • AP

For its part, Pakistan expressed hope for an expedited consideration of the application to join the association. This was stated by the Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Pakistani Senate, Mushahid Hussein Syed.

“We hope that the Russian side will carefully consider our application. We are currently in the queue of countries that have also submitted applications. But given that we have good relations with Russia and China, given that Pakistan is a member of the SCO, perhaps our application could be considered faster. Pakistan’s presence will strengthen BRICS,” Syed said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Islamabad submitted an official request to join the association in November 2023, emphasizing that it hopes for Moscow’s assistance on this issue.

According to Syed, Pakistan should have applied to join BRICS earlier, given that it is not only a strategic alliance but also “the embodiment of the Global South.”

“We feel that BRICS will help build mutual relations with other countries in the Global South. BRICS will also create trade opportunities and help us convey our position to the global community,” the politician said.

In turn, Myanmar has expressed interest in BRICS - the country is studying this format of partnership, including the idea of ​​​​introducing a single currency in the community. This was stated by the Union Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar, Dr. Kan 3o.

“Since May 2023, we have been recognized as a dialogue partner in the SCO. We also study BRICS and its development. Moreover, we are interested in BRICS and the BRICS single currency initiative,” Kan 3o said in a commentary to RIA Novosti.

"Main Target"

It is worth noting that if initially BRICS included only five countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, then from January 1, 2024, the number of members of the association doubled - the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia also became full members.

At the same time, Moscow stated that Russia will do everything possible to further “grind in the links of the mechanism” under the motto “Strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.”

“The main goal of Russia’s chairmanship is to support and strengthen the role of BRICS as an authoritative center of gravity for countries seeking to pursue an independent foreign policy,” emphasized Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov in an article for Newsweek.

  • XV BRICS summit

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Xie Huanchi/XinHua

According to him, despite the “persistent attempts” of some states to achieve the isolation of Russia or “to promote the picture” of allegedly “fencing off key capitals” from Moscow, in reality things are completely different.

“The situation when some countries consider themselves to have the right to dictate their will to others, threatening to cut them off from global economic processes, confiscate assets, and destroy the well-being of ordinary citizens, is fundamentally inconsistent with the current situation,” Antonov said.

It is worth noting that, in addition to Venezuela and Pakistan, about two dozen more states expressed a desire to join the bloc.

The intention of new countries to join BRICS has demonstrated the value and usefulness of this group, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar said at the Munich Security Conference. 

"Global Majority"

As noted by Konstantin Blokhin, an employee of the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, statements by Venezuela and Pakistan about their desire to quickly join BRICS, as well as Myanmar’s intentions to increase cooperation with the association, indicate that the structure is “attractive and attractive” for an increasing number of countries.

“The world is watching how the BRICS countries are successfully and dynamically developing their economies. This community is an indicator of the formation of a multipolar world, and Russia plays a leading role in this process, especially now that it chairs the association. Many countries are completely satisfied with this format, since it is an alternative to the notorious global liberal order, which is being built by the West and where many are prohibited from entering. In BRICS, the principle of equality prevails,” Blokhin said in a commentary to RT.

According to him, the process of BRICS expansion strengthens the economic potential of the countries of the association.

“For example, Venezuela is rich in hydrocarbons, in particular, it has huge oil reserves. It is for this reason that the United States is constantly trying to destabilize the situation there. The accession of other countries will also contribute to the positive dynamics of BRICS development,” the analyst noted.

Predictions are already being made that the BRICS share in world GDP will increase from 35 to 40% by 2028, while for the G7 it will decrease to 27.8%. This was announced by the President of the New Development Bank (NDB) created by the BRICS countries, former President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff during a speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

In turn, Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, noted that such forecasts motivate different countries around the world to join BRICS.

“BRICS is interesting to many states because it is an alternative to the G7 and a platform where the global majority, and in particular the Global South, can define, coordinate and promote their interests,” Bruter said in an interview with RT.

  • Flags of the BRICS countries

  • AP

The expert noted that economic aspects are now the most relevant for unification, but in the future “the turn will come to serious decisions” in the field of international politics.

“Here the parties need to learn to coordinate their interests and work together. It doesn’t come on its own, it’s a big challenge,” Bruter said.

According to him, this task will have to be solved “in the face of American hegemony” and with the United States trying to alienate “as many countries as possible” from BRICS.

It is worth noting that on February 16, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols called the United States a “powerful alternative” to BRICS for beneficial cooperation, including for Brazil, which is part of this association. As he noted, Washington, in particular, is counting on deepening economic ties with the Brazilian authorities.

“The United States and the West as a whole will carefully resist the integration processes in BRICS and try to divide, quarrel, and oppose the interests of the countries of the association to each other. But the fact is that many are already tired of the dictates of the United States and want a platform for equal dialogue and partnership that BRICS can offer,” the analyst concluded.