Venezuela may join BRICS during summit in Russia - President

MOSCOW: Venezuela relies on BRICS and hopes to join the organisation during the summit in Russia's Kazan, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday, reported Sputnik.

"And I hope that at the next summit in Russia... Venezuela will join BRICS+ as a permanent member," Maduro told Le Monde diplomatique newspaper.

Venezuela relies on BRICS as part of a new balanced world, the Venezuelan president added. He also noted that the refusal of Argentina to join BRICS is a "foolish act" that Argentina's President Javier Milei committed against his country.

The BRICS summit will take place in Kazan in October 2024.

BRICS, established in 2009, is a group uniting the world's largest developing economies, which currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

On Monday, BRICS formally launched full membership of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Argentina was invited to become a member but its newly-elected government declined the invitation last week.

-- BERNAMA