Erdoğan suggests adding ‘T’ to BRICS

Vahap Munyar – JOHANNESBURG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the leaders of the five-country block BRICS to let Turkey join the group.

“If you take us in the name of the platform would become BRICST, I said,” he told reporters in South Africa’s capital Johannesburg on July 27.

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

Erdoğan also said that the BRICS members welcomed his suggestion warmly.

“Especially China says that it stands in favor of enlargement. I have seen that they are considering involving other countries in this platform. They are not opposed to it,” he said.

“We are in the G-20 with five of those countries. I wish they take the necessary steps to let us in and we take our place in the BRICS,” he added.

Pointing to the potential of partnering in economy, investments and development projects with the BRICS countries, “I believe that it is not right to stay away from such groupings,” Erdoğan said.