BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina is considering the possibility of joining BRICS already after the meeting of the group in South Africa. This was stated by the Argentine ambassador to Russia, Eduardo Zuain, to TASS in the margins of the Eurasian Economic Youth Forum in Ekaterinburg. The BRICS Summit will be held in Durban in August.
The diplomat also mentioned that even if this does not happen, the invitation to the summit was already a big step for Argentina in this direction. “I have been an ambassador for two years and we are working on it,” said Zuain.
Political scientist Andrey Volkov noted that Brazil is keen to boost the role of BRICS in Latin America, especially on the backdrop of Argentina’s formal application for accession. He added that the similarities between the views of Lula da Silva and Argentine president Alberto Fernandez would further contribute to that.
The expert believes that the Brazilian leader will continue to promote the role of the union in international fora and encourage new countries, especially Argentina, to join the BRICS.
Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa, said the group has received 19 requests to join from potential member states, with 13 countries having formalized their requests.
