HANOI, After Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s two-day visit to Hanoi, Russia announced in a joint statement on Wednesday that Russia will promote Vietnam’s participation in the BRICS bloc of developing countries as a “partner country.”
“The Russian side welcomed Vietnam’s active participation in the BRICS events in 2024 and expressed its readiness to create favorable conditions if Vietnam joins BRICS as a partner country,” the statement said.
BRICS was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa joined in 2010 as a rival to the Group of Seven major industrialized nations.
Last year, the bloc added Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has also been invited to participate. Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied for membership, and several other countries have also expressed interest.
Vietnam’s Southeast Asian neighbor Indonesia was admitted as a full member of BRICS this month.
However, Vietnam remains reluctant to join, said Nguyen Khak Giang, a visiting researcher at the Vietnam Research Program at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
“Hanoi remains wary of what the Trump administration will think about BRICS and the potential consequences if it becomes a full member state in the worst-case scenario. It’s not that big.”
Vietnam needs support from the United States to advance its economic ambitions and diversify its defense relationships.
Russia is working to strengthen ties in Asia to compensate for its growing international isolation over the Ukraine war.
During Mishustin’s visit to Hanoi, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in nuclear energy.
“Russia is ready to participate in building a national nuclear industry in Vietnam,” the joint statement said. Pipi
This article was generated from the Automata news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
