Turkey, which straddles Europe and Asia, submitted an application to join BRICS a few months ago.
Turkey has formally applied to join the BRICS group of emerging market nations as it seeks to strengthen its global influence and forge new relationships beyond its traditional Western allies, according to people familiar with the matter.
The view of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration is that the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting away from advanced economies, said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.
The country’s new diplomatic push reflects its desire to build relationships with all parties in a multilateral world, while continuing to fulfill its role as a core member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, they said.
Straddling Europe and Asia, Turkey submitted an application to join BRICS months ago amid frustration over a lack of progress in its decade-long bid to join the European Union, the people added. The bid is also partly the result of a dispute with other NATO members after Turkey maintained close ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the people added. The Turkish Foreign Ministry and president declined to comment on the matter.
Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait. (Photo credit: Mo Joari/Bloomberg)
“Turkey can become a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it simultaneously improves its relations with the East and the West,” Erdogan said in Istanbul over the weekend. “Any other method than this will not benefit Turkey, but will harm it.”
The BRICS group, named after Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa, includes some of the largest emerging economies. It gained four new members earlier this year when Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt joined its ranks. Saudi Arabia was invited to join, though the kingdom has not yet done so.
A summit in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 22-24 could discuss further growth of the group, the people said. Malaysia, Thailand and Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey, are among other countries seeking to join.
BRICS members claim to be an alternative to what they see as Western-dominated institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. New members could potentially gain access to financing through their development bank, as well as expand their political and trade ties.
Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party has long accused Western countries of undermining Turkey’s aspirations for a self-sufficient defense industry and strong economy. The president has repeatedly called for an amendment to expand the U.N. Security Council to five permanent members and has expressed interest in joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, founded by Russia and China as a rival to NATO.
“Some people claim that we do not have to choose between the European Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” Erdogan said. “Instead, we need to build our relations with these and other organizations on a win-win basis.”
The expansion of the BRICS has been largely driven by China, which is seeking to increase its global influence by courting countries traditionally allied to the United States.
Turkey has been negotiating to join the EU since 2005, but the bloc has faced a number of obstacles, including what the country describes as its democratic failings.
Turkey believes joining BRICS will help the country enhance economic cooperation with Russia and China and become a trade carrier between the European Union and Asia. It also wants to be a hub for gas exports outside Russia and Central Asia, the people said.
Erdogan’s administration is seeking to attract investment from Chinese electric carmakers, which could potentially take advantage of Turkey’s customs union with the European Union to increase their market access.
“BRICS is an organization that promotes diversity of perspectives, identities and politics in the global economic system,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after attending the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in June.
However, Turkey is making parallel efforts to revive membership talks with the EU. It remains “a strategic goal,” Fidan said last week after attending informal talks with an EU counterpart for the first time in five years.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
