Turkey has officially asked to join the BRICS group of emerging-market economies after applying for membership in the political bloc earlier this summer, according to a Monday report by Bloomberg.
Government officials told the news outlet that the determination to become the organization’s tenth constituent country was made by President Recep Erdogan, who sees the world’s future geopolitical order as moving away from the developed economies of the West.
The sources also mentioned that the decision comes in the context of Ankara's long-standing, unsuccessful attempts to join the European Union and rising tensions with many NATO partners over Turkey's close ties with Moscow.
Founded in 2009 as an economic cooperation agreement between Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the coalition has expanded its participation this year to include Egypt, Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic, and the United Arab Emirates.
Turkey’s location between Europe and Asia and its customs union with the E.U. will likely make the West Asian nation an important contributor to the other BRICS affiliates.
