By Sonya Dymova
Azerbaijan formally applied to join BRICS – the Russia and China-led bloc of emerging-market countries – Baku’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ayxan Hacizada told Azerbaijan’s state-run news agency Report Tuesday.
For over a decade, the bloc included only Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, forming the acronym BRICS. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group earlier this year, and Saudi Arabia has said it is considering doing the same. South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told reporters in January that 34 more countries had submitted an expression of interest in joining the economic bloc, although he did not name the nations.
Azerbaijan’s bid to join BRICS — a bloc representing approximately 37.3% of global GDP, in contrast to the European Union’s 14.5% — appears to be yet another move in its broader foreign policy strategy to strengthen ties with the Global South, especially as Western military and diplomatic support for Armenia continues to grow.
“Turkic world – Turkey, Central Asian countries – is the primary foreign policy direction of Azerbaijan,” APRI Armenia’s Senior Research Fellow Benyamin Poghosyan tells Civilnet, commenting on the development. “Azerbaijan wants to come closer to the Global South, and [the BRICS application] underscores that Azerbaijan is not part of the Western order in the emerging multipolar world.”
Baku’s decision follows closely on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to Azerbaijan, during which President Aliyev announced a $120 million investment to boost cargo transport between the two nations. Cooperation between Moscow and Baku has been expanding since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine when Azerbaijan emerged as a crucial conduit for Moscow to sustain its oil revenues despite Western sanctions targeting its energy sector.
Yerevan-Moscow relations have become increasingly strained following Russia’s failure to protect Yerevan’s interests in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 and the country’s repeatedly voiced disappointment with Armenia’s growing military and diplomatic cooperation with the West. Yet, Armenia also seems to be strengthening its ties with BRICS, as highlighted by last week’s launch of the Armenia-BRICS Business Cooperation Center, which aims to enhance economic relations between Yerevan and the bloc’s nations.
There are four stages on a country’s path to BRICS membership: first, it expresses an interest in joining the economic group, then becomes a prospective member, then moves on to become an invited member, and, finally, becomes a member state. Azerbaijan appears to be at the beginning of this process, meaning it is being vetted against BRICS expansion criteria, among which is a candidate country’s commitment to promoting international and regional peace and security.
The economic group is set to meet in Russia this October.
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