Belarus officially obtains BRICS partner status - Foreign Ministry

MINSK. Nov 11 (Interfax) - Belarus has completed the official procedure for obtaining BRICS partner status, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"On November 5, 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin on our country's readiness to join BRICS as a partner. Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov handed the document to Russian Ambassador Boris Gryzlov at an in-person meeting. An official reply to a written invitation is an obligatory element of the procedure for acquiring partner status agreed upon between the member states. It is precisely from this moment that a country is officially considered a BRICS partner," the ministry said.

Lukashenko thanked Putin for support and pointed out that Belarus's BRICS partnership status has been formalized during Russia's presidency term, it said.

Belarus has confirmed its compliance with all the necessary standards and criteria and agreed to follow BRICS principles such as mutual respect, equitability, solidarity, openness, compliance with UN principles, and support for a comprehensive reform of the international financial architecture, it said.

"Belarus also complies with all standards and criteria; in particular, it is a country having influence in the region and the world, has diplomatic relations with all BRICS members, has not joined sanctions circumventing the UN Security Council, is promoting peace and security at the international and regional levels, and supports sustainable socioeconomic development," it said.

Inter alia, partnership status provides for participation on a permanent basis in special sessions of BRICS summits and foreign ministers' meetings, the ministry said. Partners can also be invited to other ministerial meetings, including those addressing trade or national security aspects, as well as parliamentary forums, it said. Partners can also join BRICS final documents, thus expanding their geographic scope and making the association's voice in international affairs stronger, it said.