BRICS-Turkey meeting an opportunity: Erdoğan

JOHANNESBURG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he anticipates further collaborations between BRICS countries and Turkey in economic matters in his address at the 10th BRICS summit, proposing to form a “new credit-rating agency” to “strengthen the south-south collaboration” in the global political economy.

“As Turkey, we would like to work with BRICS countries, especially in the fields of economy, trade and development. I think that we can form new collaborations between Turkish institutions and the BRICS New Development Bank [NDB] and Business Council,” Erdoğan said on July 27 at the 10th BRICS summit in South Africa’s financial capital Johannesburg.

The BRICS group, made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, invited Turkey to its 10th annual meeting as the term chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Erdoğan travelled to Johannesburg along with the foreign minister, finance and treasury minister, national defense minister, commerce minister and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials on July 26.

As it is the first high-level meeting between Turkey and the BRICS block, Erdoğan said he regards it as an opportunity to form further relations with BRICS.

“We are anticipating the finalization of membership talks between our Treasury and Finance Ministry and the BRICS New Development Bank shortly,” he added.

As being in the summit as a representative of OIC, Erdoğan said the relationship between the organization and BRICS should be strengthened “in a bid to benefit from south-south collaboration for an equal world.”

“I see great benefit in the evaluation of the collaboration between OIC and BRICS and the NDB in the direction towards the development efforts of Africa,” he said.

Erdoğan defined the current global system as “a system that satisfies nobody except a minority whose interests are guaranteed,” and pointed a need for a change.

“It is impossible for this structure to continue without a change made in accordance with the necessities of the current circumstances. Reflecting the weight of emerging economies to the system is a must,” he said.

The president underlined Turkey’s contribution with its development assistance, stating that “last year, Turkey has been one of the first countries in development assistance with its $8.2 billion contribution.”

The collaboration to be formed between the BRICS countries and Turkey could be transformed into a collaboration in forming a “new and impartial international credit rating agency,” Erdoğan said.

“We can act in collaboration in a bid to form a new and impartial international credit rating agency both under the BRICS body and within the scope of efforts carried out in Turkey,” he said.