Reports indicate that on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted this application to enhance Turkey’s influence and commercial relations outside its long-time Western allies. As such, Turkey becomes the first NATO member country to take steps toward joining BRICS.
Erdogan states that this decision reflects Turkey’s desire for continuity in its relations with both East and West. BRICS was formed in 2009 with an aim at stimulating collaboration among economies while diminishing reliance on the US dollar.
It is expected that there will be discussions about the possible inclusion of Turkey and other nations during the BRICS summit set for October 22-24 in Russia. Analysts see these developments as a big change in the world geopolitical arena, since growing economies are looking for alternative partnerships to mitigate Western supremacy.
However, it remains up to BRICS member countries whether or not they allow for the entry of Turkey into their groupings, which has to come as a result of the agreement reached on a consensus basis among them.
