Mali’s foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop has signalled interest in joining BRICS. The West African country expects to submit an application ‘in the near future’ together with the Sahel alliance.
According to Abdoulaye Diop, Mali is interested in joining BRICS. According to him, the membership of the West African country in the organisation is being discussed with Moscow and with some other members of the association.
‘We are considering all options, but I hope that in the near future our country, together with the confederation Alliance of Sahel States, will apply to BRICS for membership,’ the minister told RIA Novosti.
He specified that BRICS represents an alternative model of multilateral world and provides a certain balance in international relations.
‘BRICS is of interest both from the geopolitical point of view and from the point of view of ensuring that the voice of our country is heard in the international arena,’ the diplomat explained.
The minister added that the association is also of interest in terms of economics, such as the ability to trade using local and national currencies or using the BRICS bank.
‘BRICS is interesting in the sense that the association will give our economies and our businessmen access to some financing, which we think is definitely an interesting option for our country,’ Diop noted.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was going through a difficult period in Russian history. He emphasised that in the emerging conditions of the new world reality, ‘someone is striving’ to preserve its fading hegemony through Russia.
