Latin American nation invited to become BRICS partner – FM

Bolivia has received an invitation from Russia to become a partner country of the BRICS economic group, the Latin American nation’s foreign minister, Celinda Sosa Lunda, has said.

Sosa Lunda made the announcement on Wednesday during an interview with TASS news agency on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.

"Today, we have received an invitation from the Russian Foreign Minister [Sergey Lavrov]. We were invited as a BRICS partner country. We responded positively to this invitation,” she said.

The foreign minister called BRICS “a new alternative” that will “strengthen mechanisms of multilateral cooperation” and help Bolivia and many other nations to develop.

"Many countries in the past were dependent on financing that had been provided under strict conditions. This led to poverty, not to a change and wealth,” she said, apparently referring to loans issued by the International Monetary Fund. The global financial institution lends money to nations on condition that they introduce reforms and austerity policies that reduce government spending and raise taxes.

"We are truly grateful to the President of brotherly Russia [Vladimir Putin] for supporting Bolivia’s participation in BRICS,” Sosa Lunda said.

The new ‘partner country’ status was approved during the BRICS Summit hosted by Russia, which chairs the group this year, in the city of Kazan last month. It is intended to serve as an alternative to membership after more than 30 nations applied to join the organization.

BRICS was initially been comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and expanded when Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates officially became members on January 1, 2024.

The list of aspiring partners has not been officially announced, but media reports have mentioned Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam as potential candidates.

‘Partner country’ status provides for permanent participation in special sessions of BRICS summits and foreign ministers’ meetings, as well as other high-level events. Partners can also take part in the group’s outcome documents.

Earlier this week, Russian ally Belarus announced that it has officially become a BRICS partner country. In a statement, Minsk described the organization as “a pillar of a multipolar world” that gives many nations “hope for a fairer world order.”