The North African country already meets most of the criteria to join the economic bloc, according to its president
Algeria has reportedly submitted an official application to join the BRICS group of major emerging economies. The Al-Shouruk news website said the announcement came from Leila Zerrouki, the Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for international partnerships, speaking on state radio.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently said the country was interested in joining Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in the BRICS group, explaining that the country largely meets the criteria for membership.
Later, the Russian ambassador to Algeria, Valeryan Shuvaev, indicated that Moscow had no objection to Algeria joining.
At this year’s BRICS summit, held online in June, the format was expanded to include an additional 13 nations, including Algeria. President Tebboune was the first guest to speak and asked “a new economic order where parity and equity among countries will reign”.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in September that a number of countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS in one way or another. The diplomat said that the leaders of the BRICS nations are developing a procedure to accept new members.