KAZAN – Belarus is poised to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc as it prepares to add approximately 10 new members during its summit next month.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov announced at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that Moscow is in the final stages of finalizing the list of nations for the BRICS expansion. Moscow, holding the BRICS chairmanship this year, anticipates the inclusion of new members at the upcoming summit in Kazan, Russia. Ryzhenkov expressed confidence that Belarus’s application would be successfully approved.

BRICS, established in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and later expanded to include South Africa in 2011, underwent its last expansion in December 2023 by adding six more countries. Despite the expansions, the bloc has retained its original acronym.