Cuba and Vietnam enter ‘preliminary list’ to join BRICS

BRICS – a group of emerging countries that includes China, Brazil and India – decided to accelerate its expansion process and included countries such as Cuba and Vietnam in the preliminary list of “Partner States”.

At the end of the summit in Kazan, Russia, this Wednesday, the 23rd, the group released the list of countries invited to participate as associate members. The list includes Algeria, Belarus, Cuba, Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam, Nigeria and Uganda.

These countries will have access to future BRICS meetings, but without veto power. For the first time, the bloc will divide countries into permanent members and associated nations.

There are disagreements about the possibility of Türkiye and Indonesia joining. In the case of Turkey, due to its position on the international scene – as it would be the first NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) country to join Brics – the “Partner State” classification is uncomfortable, in Ankara’s opinion. In relation to Indonesia, the country had already been invited last year to become a “Full State”.

At last year’s summit, Argentina received an invitation, but Javier Milei’s government abandoned the process when it arrived at Casa Rosada. A situation similar to that of Saudi Arabia, which has been cooking the process of joining the bloc on the back burner since last year.

Also at this Wednesday’s meeting, the bloc’s members demonstrated a widespread defense of a new alternative international payments system, replacing Swift — the system that currently controls international transactions.