BRICS to add 9 countries to 'Partner Country' status with dozens more interested

 

Asian country accepts BRICS invitation

Thailand has confirmed its readiness to become a partner state, local media reported

FILE PHOTO: Thailand, Bangkok City, What Phra Kaew and Gran Palace. ©  Dukas / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Thailand has formally accepted Russia’s invitation to become a BRICS partner state, local media reported on Wednesday.

A new ‘partner country’ status was approved at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October, and is intended to serve as an alternative to membership after more than 30 nations applied to join the organization.

BRICS initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and was expanded this year to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

On Tuesday, Thailand’s cabinet agreed to the decision, local media reported. Speaking to the press, spokesman Nikondet Phalangkun said that Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa had sent a letter to his Russian counterpart confirming the kingdom’s consent to become a BRICS partner country, according to TASS.

On October 31, Thailand received an official invitation from Russia, which at present holds the group’s rotating presidency, to become a BRICS partner, Phalangkun said.

“Acquiring BRICS partner country 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 granted permanent participation in special sessions of BRICS summits and foreign ministers’ meetings, as well as other high-level events. Partners can also contribute to the group’s outcome documents.

READ MORE: Nine countries to become BRICS partners in 2025 – Kremlin

The new status is expected to boost Thailand’s relations with other members of the grouping and provide new opportunities for developing its economy, the spokesman explained.

Thailand previously said it was seeking full membership in BRICS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that joining the group would benefit the country by boosting trade, investment, food and energy security.

Earlier this week, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced that nine countries would officially become BRICS partner states. The senior Kremlin official emphasized the importance of partner state status, and named Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan as the nations that would receive it on January 1.

More than two dozen countries have shown interest in cooperating with BRICS, according to Ushakov. The 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, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan.

If all these countries become members or Partner Countries, that will increase BRICS' numbers from the original 4 to more than 40.

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Geopolitics > Turkey pursues membership in BRICS despite its NATO membership

 

NATO member Turkey to request membership

in BRICS economic bloc spearheaded by Russia and China

Sep 3, 2024 6:30 am By Robert Spencer

“There is a belief in Ankara that it can do this ‘without a political cost that would be attached to this realignment.’”

That is only because of the weakness and wrongheadedness of the Biden-Harris regime. Turkey should be expelled from NATO. But it will not be.

NATO member Turkey to request membership of Russia-led BRICS

Euractiv, September 2, 2024:

Turkey will be the first NATO member to request membership of the BRICS economic bloc spearheaded by the leaders of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, agencies reported.

Bloomberg said Monday (2 September) that Ankara had formally asked to join the group of emerging market nations as it looks beyond its traditional Western allies. Newsweek has contacted the Turkish Foreign Ministry for comment.

“Turkey can become a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it improves its relations with the East and the West simultaneously,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in Istanbul over the weekend. “Any method other than this will not benefit Turkey, but will harm it.”

“We do not have to choose between the European Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] as some people claim,” Erdoğan added. “On the contrary, we have to develop our relations with both these and other organisations on a win-win basis,” Erdoğan added….

“This is not the strategy, by Ankara, to replace the West, but it’s a strategy to strengthen relations with non-Western powers at a time when the US hegemony is waning,” said Sinan Ülgen, head of the Istanbul-based think tank EDAM….

“The bilateral relationship with the US has also been problematic,” Ülgen said, as quoted by Newsweek. “These type of frustrations have motivated the Turkish government to move in this direction,” he added. There is a belief in Ankara that it can do this “without a political cost that would be attached to this realignment.”

I believe they have a point. America's military association with Turkey is very important and will not be tossed away easily. On the other hand, America may not agree with Turkey's assessment that its hegemony is decreasing and may want to show otherwise.

Victor Orban explains his World View most brilliantly

 

There are three world leaders, or potential world leaders who have impressed me quite astoundingly with their knowledge of geopolitics and their willingness to talk at length without notes about it.

Victor Orban is the latest to join that list. It began with Vladimir Putin, watching him in his annual press briefing. He takes questions from the floor and answers them without notes or hesitation. His knowledge of global affairs is very impressive.

The third person who has joined my list just in the past few months is Robert F Kennedy Jr. His activity on X reveals a stunningly brilliant mind that puts him so far above Biden, Harris, or Trump, that it would be an utter disgrace if he is not elected President in November. Check him out!

Lecture of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the 33rd Bálványos Summer Free University and Student Camp

• 27/07/2024
• Source: Cabinet Office Of The Prime Minister

Good morning Summer Camp and other Guests.

The first piece of good news is that my visit this year was not accompanied by the same kind of brouhaha as last year’s: this year we have not received – I have not received – a diplomatic démarche from Bucharest; what I received was an invitation to a meeting with the Prime Minister, which took place yesterday. Last year, when I had the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister of Romania, I said after the meeting that it was “the beginning of a beautiful friendship”; at the end of the meeting this year, I was able to say “We’re making progress”. If we look at the figures, we are setting new records in economic and trade relations between our two countries. Romania is now Hungary’s third most important economic partner. We also discussed with the Prime Minister a high-speed train – a “TGV” – linking Budapest to Bucharest, as well as Romania’s membership of Schengen. I have undertaken to put this issue on the agenda for the October Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting – and, if necessary, for the December Council meeting – and to take it forward if possible.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have not received a démarche from Bucharest, but – to prevent us getting bored – we have received one from Brussels: they have condemned the Hungarian peace mission efforts. I have tried – without success – to explain that there is such a thing as Christian duty. This means that if you see something bad in the world – especially something very bad – and you receive some instrument for its correction, then it is a Christian duty to take action, without undue contemplation or reflection. The Hungarian peace mission is about this duty. I would like to remind all of us that the EU has a founding treaty, which contains these exact words: “The Union’s aim is peace”. Brussels is also offended at our describing what they are doing as a pro-war policy. They say that they are supporting the war in the interest of peace. Central Europeans like us are immediately reminded of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who taught that with the advent of communism the state will die, but that the state will die while first constantly strengthening. Brussels is also creating peace by constantly supporting war. Just as we did not understand Lenin’s thesis in our university lectures on the history of the labour movement, I do not understand the Brusseleers in European Council meetings. Perhaps Orwell was right after all when he wrote that in “Newspeak” peace is war and war is peace. Despite all the criticism, let us remind ourselves that since the beginning of our peace mission the US and Russian war ministers have spoken to each other, the Swiss and Russian foreign ministers have held talks, President Zelenskyy has finally called President Trump, and the Ukrainian foreign minister has been to Beijing. So fermentation has begun, and we are slowly but surely moving from a pro-war European policy to a pro-peace policy. This is inevitable, because time is on the side of peace policy. Reality has dawned on the Ukrainians, and now it is up to the Europeans to come to their senses, before it is too late: “Trump ante portas”. If by then Europe does not switch to a policy of peace, then after Trump’s victory it will have to do so while admitting defeat, covered in shame, and admitting sole responsibility for its policy.

But, Ladies and Gentlemen, The subject of today’s presentation is not peace. Please regard what I have said so far as a digression. In fact, for those who are thinking about the future of the world, and of Hungarians within it, there are three big issues on the table today. The first is the war – or more precisely, an unexpected side-effect of the war. This is the fact that the war reveals the reality in which we live. This reality was not visible and could not be described earlier, but it has been illuminated by the blazing light of missiles fired in the war. The second big issue on the table is what will happen after the war. Will a new world come into being, or will the old one continue? And if a new world is coming – and this is our third big issue – how should Hungary prepare for this new world? The fact is that I need to talk about all three, and I need to talk about them here – first of all because these are the big issues that are best discussed in this “free university” format. From another point of view, we need a pan-Hungarian approach, as looking at these issues only from the point of view of a “Little Hungary” would be too constricting; it is therefore justified to talk about these issues in front of Hungarians outside our borders.

Please continue reading at the link below:

Dear Summer Camp,

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Demonizing Russia Dangerous for World, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Warns West

It's always nice when a Nobel Peace Prize winner

agrees with your assessment of current geopolitics

The scapegoating of Russia, which is actively promoted by the West, is “inexcusable” as it pushes the world back into the Cold War era and puts it on the brink of a disaster, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire has warned.

Russia has become the latest victim of the blame game hysteria, which the US and its western allies engage in to justify their ever-increasing military spending, Maguire wrote in an opinion piece. “All armies must have an enemy to deem them necessary,” she said, adding that people “must be convinced that there is need for action to safeguard the freedom of their country.”

What also apparently drives the Western elites mad is the prospect of losing their perceived superiority and global hegemony in the view of the new rising powers such as Russia and China, the peace activist said. “Do we honestly believe that the Western allies are going to give up their power? My suggestion is: not easily,” Maguire wrote.

“The old dying empires will fight tooth and nail to protect their financial interests such as the petrol dollar and the many benefits that come through their power over poverty-stricken countries,” she warned.

It was the petrol-dollar that was the motivation for invading Libya. Gadaffi was on the verge of selling Libyan oil in currencies other than the American dollar. That could not be allowed to happen and the country was made to pay for such an anti-American idea. It's still paying! It will be paying for a very long time as the country was left in a phenomenal mess.

“The demonization of Russia is, I believe, one of the most dangerous things that is happening in our world today,” Maguire said as she denounced the “scapegoating of Russia” as an “inexcusable game” while saying the amount of propaganda spread by the western media is literally “a throwback to the Cold War era.” She also called on people to wake up to the real results of the West’s self-declared fight for freedom, which left millions in despair but greatly benefited the elites that “financially gained from war.”

“The people of the world have been subjected to war propaganda based on lies and misinformation and we have seen the results of invasions and occupations by NATO disguised as ‘humanitarian intervention’ and ‘right to protect’,” Maguire said as she accused the US and its allies, the UK and France, of being “the most military minded countries,” which are absolutely unable to resolve conflicts through dialog.

Of course not, you can't sell defense systems to countries that are at peace and have no fear of being invaded. The idea of western European countries being invaded by Russia is so utterly absurd, and yet they are spending trillions of Euros to protect themselves when that money could be used to make the world a better place instead of lining the pockets of the military industrial complex.

The peace activist then demanded that “the policies of demonization of political leaders as a means of preparing the way for invasions and wars” be stopped “immediately.” “Surely it is time that we in Europe refuse to be put in a position where we are forced to choose between [Russia and the US],” Maguire added.

She then called for sanctions against Russia to be lifted and trust among the nations to be rebuilt. “It is time for political leaders and each individual to move us back from the brink of catastrophe to begin to build relationships with our Russian brothers and sisters,” she wrote.

Mairead Maguire is a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was one of the co-founders of the Women for Peace movement, which later became the Community for Peace People, aimed at helping to resolve the conflict in the region. For her peace efforts, she was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize together with Betty Williams in 1976.

Maguire has become an outspoken critic of the US and British policy in the Middle East, including the western invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan. She particularly refused to attend the 2012 Nobel summit in Chicago as it was hosted by the US State Department, which, according to Maguire, “is continuing with war, removing basic civil liberties and human rights and international law.” She has also been a vocal critic of Israel’s policies towards Palestine. - She can't be right about everything!

In 2009, she slammed the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the US President Barack Obama.

“They say this is for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples and yet he continues the policy of militarism and occupation of Afghanistan, instead of dialogue and negotiations with all the parties to the conflict,” she said at the time.