Sri Lanka Wishes to Join BRICS, Looks for India’s Support – Foreign Minister
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - BRICS was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for the world's largest emerging economies, bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. On January 1, 2024, the bloc was expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka plans to join BRICS and seeks to gain support of India who is already a member of the organization, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told the country's Ani newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
"We will look forward for BRICS. Also, I think the cabinet had appointed a sub-committee to look into that and recommend to us. … Therefore BRICS is a good body, particularly since India is a part of it," Sabry said in the interview.
The country’s government will assess the sub-committee's recommendations so as to have "multiple options," the minister added.
"The first country we would be talking to is India and seek India's support for us to reach to the BRICS," the minister said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has been invited to take part in the BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Russia, the minister said.
"I have been invited to take part [in] the BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Russia. So I hope that I will be there and then we will assess that. And yes, I think that right now personally if you ask me, think that we should look at BRICS seriously," he added.
