Thailand has officially accepted Russia's invitation to become a BRICS partner country, local media reported on December 26.
The new "partnership country" regulations were approved at the BRICS summit in Kazan (Russia) in October and are expected to replace membership after more than 30 countries applied to join the organization.
BRICS originally included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has been expanded this year to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On December 24, the Thai cabinet agreed with the decision to become a partner country. Speaking to the press, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikondet Phalangkun said Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa had sent a letter to his Russian counterpart confirming Bangkok's agreement to become a BRICS partner country, according to TASS.
On October 31, Thailand received an official invitation from Russia - the country holding the rotating presidency of the group in 2024 - to become a BRICS partner, spokesperson Phalangkun said.
"Achieving BRICS partner status is an important step for Thailand towards joining BRICS as a full member in the future. This is the first step on this path," TASS quoted Phalangkun as saying.
partner countries are given the right to regularly attend special sessions of the BRICS summit and meetings of foreign ministers, as well as other high-level events. Partners can also contribute to the group's results documents.
The spokesperson explained that this new status is expected to boost Thailand's relations with other BRICS members and bring new opportunities to develop the country's economy.
Thailand has previously said it is seeking full membership in BRICS. According to the Thai Foreign Ministry, joining the group will benefit the country by boosting trade, investment, food security and energy.
Earlier this week, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced that nine countries would officially become BRICS partner countries. The senior Kremlin official stressed the importance of the partner country status and named Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia and Uzbekistan as countries that will receive the status on January 1.
According to Mr. Ushakov, more than two dozen countries have expressed interest in cooperating with BRICS. These countries are Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Colombia, the Republic of Congo, Laos, Kuwait, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Syria, Chad, Sri Lanka, Guinea Xich Dao and South Sudan.
