Azerbaijan has officially applied to join the BRICS group, the spokesman for the country’s Foreign Ministry, Aykhan Hajizada, announced on Tuesday, Azerbaijani media reports.
This move follows the July 3 adoption of the "Joint Declaration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the People’s Republic of China on Establishing a Strategic Partnership" during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana.
As stated in paragraph 4.5 of the declaration, Azerbaijan expresses its desire to join the BRICS, and China welcomes Azerbaijan’s participation in BRICS cooperation.
BRICS, established in 2006, is an intergovernmental organization that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2006, Brazil, Russia, India and China created the BRIC group. South Africa joined in 2010, making it BRICS.
The group was designed to bring together the world's most important developing countries, to challenge the political and economic power of the wealthier nations of North America and Western Europe.
