Vegetable harvest in Belarus almost complete
Belarus has officially become a BRICS partner, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On November 5, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing the country's readiness to join BRICS as a partner. Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov handed the document to the Russian diplomat during a meeting with Russian Ambassador Boris Gryzlov.
"An official response to a written invitation is a mandatory element of the procedure for obtaining partner status agreed upon by the member states. It is from this moment that the country is officially considered a BRICS partner," the MFA press service explained.
In his message, the President of Belarus emphasized that since its formation, BRICS has been steadily strengthening multilateral interaction, becoming not just a symbol, but one of the pillars of multipolarity. Hopes for a just world order are now linked with this association not only by member states but also by a growing number of countries of the global majority. The spirit of mutual respect and equality, and the attractiveness of its goals, with relentless logic, are leading to the expansion of BRICS.
Alexander Lukashenko thanked his Russian counterpart for his support and noted with particular satisfaction that Belarus's participation in BRICS as a partner is being formalized precisely during Russia's presidency.
Thus, Belarus has confirmed its compliance with the necessary standards and criteria and agreed to follow the guiding principles of the BRICS partner country model. Among these principles, the following are particularly noted: the spirit of mutual respect and understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusivity, and consensus; the focus on strengthening the BRICS cooperation structure through partnership in three main areas: politics and security, economy and finance, culture and interpersonal contacts; the focusfocus on strengthening multilateral interaction, reinforcing and updating the multilateral system, and upholding international law; adoption of the goals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter as an inalienable cornerstone of multilateral interaction and international law; support for comprehensive reform of the international financial architecture to reflect changes in the global economic landscape, accelerate progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, take into account the legitimate interests of the Global South, and enhance the role and representation of developing countries in international economic and financial governance.
Belarus also meets all the applicable standards and criteria, in particular, it is a state with influence in the region and the world, has diplomatic relations with all BRICS states, has not joined sanctions bypassing the UN Security Council, promotes peace and security at the international and regional levels, and supports sustainable socio-economic development.
"The status of a partner country, among other things, provides for permanent participation in special sessions of summits and meetings of BRICS foreign ministers. Partners may also be invited to other ministerial-level events, in particular, on trade topics, meetings of national security representatives, and a forum of parliamentarians. Partners can join the final documents of BRICS, thereby expanding their geographical coverage and strengthening the voice of the association in international affairs," the ministry noted.