Lavrov: about 20 countries want to join the BRICS and SCO

About 20 countries expressed their desire to join the BRICS and SCO. This statement was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov at the opening of a meeting with the heads of territorial bodies – representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Russian regions.

“It is significant that over the past couple of years, including the past first year of the special military operation, the number of countries that want to join the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has increased dramatically. There are already about two dozen of them now, ”he said (quote according to TASS).

In July 2022 Lavrov declared about the “line” of countries that would like to join the SCO as full members and observers. Later, he clarified that a number of Arab and Asian countries are showing interest, and Armenia and Azerbaijan have also expressed their desire.

Last December, the Russian minister also pointed outthat if everyone is accepted into the BRICS, then the “five” can turn into an association of 15-17 states.

The SCO was founded in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Observers in the organization are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partner countries. In addition, in 2021, the procedures for granting partner status to Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia began. In 2022 Belarus filed application for the status of a full member of the organization. The previous SCO summit was held in Samarkand in September last year.

BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The organization was founded in 2006, and the first summit took place in June 2009. The last time the governments of the BRICS countries met was in June 2022 in China.