Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS, the coalition of emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, continues to remain stalled amid opposition from India.
Pakistan applied for BRICS membership in 2023, as the grouping expanded beyond its original five members. Last year, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates were admitted, transforming the bloc into BRICS+.
Pakistan is among 29 other countries that have applied for membership of the grouping. Islamabad’s push to join BRICS has largely been driven by its economic challenges and its efforts to diversify international financing options. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey, the country’s GDP growth rate stood at 3.70 per cent.
A Nikkei Asia report stated that Pakistan has purchased a $580 million stake in the BRICS-backed New Development Bank, seeking to diversify its financing options and reduce its dependence on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Islamabad’s application came as BRICS was gaining greater recognition as a prominent platform representing the Global South. Following its expansion, the bloc now accounts for around 49 per cent of the world’s population and about 40 per cent of global GDP on a purchasing power parity basis.
India’s trade with BRICS countries has also increased significantly. Its exports to BRICS members rose 48.8 per cent, from USD 64.3 billion to USD 95.7 billion.
In November 2023, Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that Islamabad had formally sought membership of BRICS. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan maintained warm ties with "most" BRICS members.
Calling BRICS an "important group of developing countries", Baloch confirmed that Pakistan had made a formal request to join the grouping.
"We believe that by joining BRICS, Pakistan can play an important role in furthering international cooperation and revitalising inclusive multilateralism", she said.
"We also hope that BRICS will move forward on Pakistan's request in line with its commitment to inclusive multilateralism," she added.
Pakistan has also sought support from individual BRICS members for its application. Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, told Russian news agency TASS that Islamabad was contacting member countries to seek support for its membership and had reached out to Russia in particular.
Despite support from Moscow and Beijing, Pakistan’s bid remains stalled because of India’s opposition. Under BRICS’ consensus-based admission process, the approval of all existing members is required for the admission of new full members or partner countries.
As a result, New Delhi’s opposition continues to represent a major obstacle to Islamabad’s efforts to enter the expanded Global South grouping.
