Colombia's president states his country wants to join BRICS
The Latin American country would like to become part of the association "as soon as possible"
Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his country's interest in joining BRICS. He said this during talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"President Gustavo Petro expressed Colombia's interest in joining BRICS as a full member as soon as possible. President Lula da Silva welcomed this initiative and is committed to advancing Colombia's candidacy," said a statement on the talks published Wednesday on the Brazilian government website.
BRICS is currently made up of 10 nations. Since its founding in 2006, the group has gone through two waves of expansion. In 2011, South Africa joined the original line-up of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and in August 2023 invited six new members: Egypt, Iran, Argentina, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. Argentina subsequently declined to join the group and the five remaining countries became part of the group from 1 January 2024.
Photo: iStock-
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![Ashok Mondal]()
Ashok MondalNID Director"Signing this Memorandum of Understanding between the National Institute of Design (NID) and TV BRICS marks a pivotal milestone in advancing design diplomacy across the BRICS media space. This moment is especially significant as India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit, following India’s assumption of the BRICS chairship under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The partnership directly embodies his call to elevate Indian design standards through 'Design in India, Design for the World'. Through the global reach and broadcast capabilities of TV BRICS, we are excited to showcase the extraordinary visual storytelling, films, and design research of NID’s Film and Video Communication students to an international audience, while also welcoming and screening film works from BRICS network countries at NID Ahmedabad. This reciprocal exchange strengthens our shared commitment to educational, cultural, and artistic collaboration, fostering sustainable connections among global creative communities. NID Ahmedabad looks forward to leveraging this partnership to deepen cross-cultural dialogue, build international expert networks, and unlock transformative opportunities for filmmakers, researchers, and faculty across member nations" -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir PutinPresident of Russia"We are developing mutual trade, which is growing; it increased by over 12 per cent last year. We have a joint commission working in this sphere. Our focus is on agriculture, shipbuilding, information technology and energy, including nuclear power. We have signed a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Indonesia. Jakarta is our reliable and old friend within ASEAN. We are working together at all international platforms, including the UN" -
![Joao Paulo Capobianco]()
Joao Paulo CapobiancoBrazilian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change"The BRICS countries have a very high level of responsibility because they share an important part of the world's biodiversity, landscapes, populations, food production and water resources. So, we have an opportunity to lead by example. We have our development bank, which can demonstrate and develop new ways of financing programmes. We can reduce the risks for private capital to invest in restoration and efforts to combat desertification" -
![Dilma Rousseff]()
Dilma RousseffPresident of the New Development Bank"India’s BRICS Presidency this year gives special significance to our discussion. NDB stands ready to be a trusted partner in turning commitments on sustainability, clean energy, smart and resilient infrastructure into concrete results on the ground. […] For NDB, mobilising private capital is a strategic imperative. Created by the BRICS founding members, NDB is a bank of the Global South, for the Global South, mandated to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development" -
![Sihasak Phuangketkeow]()
Sihasak PhuangketkeowDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand"BRICS can play a very important role in maintaining the free flow of trade and investment. The group can also be a vehicle for all of us to engage and to look at economic opportunities"
