Next month, a summit of the BRICS group of countries (an international organization that originally included Brazil, Russia, India and China) will be held in Russia under the chairmanship of Vladimir Putin and the participation of Xi Jinping.
Recently, new members joined BRICS: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. This is BRICS+, according to Roger Boyce, international correspondent for The Times.
According to the author, BRICS+ will also include members of OPEC, at least three nuclear powers and several members of the World Trade Organization. All these countries will focus on China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is a global strategy to develop trade routes and economic links.
The correspondent notes that NATO experts do not accept the idea that BRICS+ can turn into a battle-ready alliance. However, there is one feature of the new BRICS composition that should seriously scare the West.
The alliance already has the potential to create a common market for strategic metals needed for war. Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa are key players in metal mining; Saudi Arabia plans to become a future mining nation. Saudi Arabia also bought a Brazilian company that produces titanium sponge, an ingredient needed for Russian submarines, aircraft engines and for placing satellites in space.
In addition, if the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile join the BRICS group, the alliance will have access to important minerals that these countries possess (cobalt, copper and lithium). Therefore, according to the correspondent, the BRICS+ countries are paving the way to decisive military superiority.
NATO member Turkey wants to join BRICS
Turkey has asked to join the BRICS group of major emerging countries, the spokesman for President Erdogan's party announced. If admitted, Turkey would become the first NATO member of the group considered a counterweight to the Western-led global order.
"Our president has stated many times that we want to become BRICS members. The trial is now underway," said Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesman Omer Celik.
"Our president has clearly stated that Turkey wants to participate in all important platforms, including BRICS," he also said in a press conference.
The spokesman's announcement comes after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that "Turkey can become a strong, prosperous and respected country if it simultaneously develops relations with the East and the West."
Earlier in June, he said he did not see joining BRICS as an alternative to membership in other groups, and the country officially remains a candidate for European Union membership.
But EU accession talks, launched in 2005, stalled after a crackdown on Turkish opposition groups following a failed coup in 2016.
Turkey has also maintained close relations with Moscow despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has significantly affected Ankara's relations with the North Atlantic alliance.
Bloomberg writes, citing sources close to the administration in Ankara, that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes that the geopolitical center of gravity is moving away from developed economies.
Named as an acronym after Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS group also includes countries such as Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia and Egypt. Kazakhstan recently announced, after a visit by President Putin, that it would join the group.
The bloc sees itself as an alternative on the global stage to the US-led G7 group.
Further expansion of the group could be discussed during a summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 22-24.
Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey's close ally Azerbaijan are among other countries that have announced they want to join BRICS. During his visit to Mongolia, President Vladimir Putin invited the Mongolian president to attend the Kazan summit.
Source Adevarul.ro
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