Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosted the 17th BRICS Summit Sunday. At the summit, the BRICS leaders welcomed Indonesia as a new full-fledged member and ten more countries as partner-countries of the organization.
“We welcome Indonesia as a member of BRICS, as well as Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda and Uzbekistan as partner countries of BRICS,” the joint statement of the 17th BRICS Summit said.
The Uzbek authorities have not yet issued official information about the becoming a partner country.
The BRICS leaders also endorsed a Declaration on Climate Finance, a Statement on “Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence” and a “Partnership Initiative to Eliminate Socially-Emerging Diseases.” “These initiatives demonstrate the joint efforts of the BRICS countries to create inclusive and sustainable solutions to global problems,” the statement said.
According to various sources, more than 30 countries have currently expressed their desire to join BRICS as members or partners.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan said that cooperation with BRICS is considered one of the pragmatic and balanced axes of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.
According to the ministry's spokesman, Ahror Burkhanov, "The Republic of Uzbekistan has become a partner country of the BRICS organization and is exploring opportunities in this regard."
