Russia supports Saudi Arabia’s application for admission to the BRICS group, Russian diplomatic sources told Izvestia. However, new candidates must meet certain conditions, which China places great emphasis on, the sources noted. Overall, dozens of countries are seeking to become members of the BRICS bloc, the newspaper wrote, according to TASS’s press review on June 8.
Saudi Arabia is also interested in joining the New Development Bank, which the BRICS founded in 2014, and was originally comprised of the five BRICS nations, although it is not technically part of the BRICS itself. Like Bangladesh, U.A.E., Egypt and Uruguay, which were approved for admission to the NDB in 2021, Riyadh could join the bank before officially joining the BRICS. The Saudis are very open to the idea of trading outside of the dollar, and the development of a single BRICS currency, which will be used in international settlements among the group’s member countries as an alternative to the dollar, is already on the bank’s agenda, Izvestia said. It may take some time though until implementation of any new system.
