Colombia Also Wants to Join BRICS

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his country has “a firm intention” to join the BRICS group as “a full member and as soon as possible.” According to the final joint declaration issued at the end of the summit on Wednesday, April 17 in Bogota between Peter and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, one of the “founding fathers” of BRICS, “President Lula welcomed this impactful initiative.” He promised to “promote Colombia’s candidacy for the sake of good relations between the two countries.” Petro and Lula said they would “elevate bilateral relations to the level of a strategic partnership.”

After discussing regional issues, including the defense of the Amazon, political, economic, and even military interaction, the two presidents touched on the most pressing international issues, from the armed conflict in Ukraine to the war in Gaza and the growing tensions between Israel and Iran. Petro and Lula advocated “the need to strengthen multilateralism” and expressed deep concern about “growing geopolitical tensions.” The two Latin American leaders repeated the call for a ceasefire in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state. They advocated the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and the start of peaceful dialog. Referring to the situation in Haiti, Lula and Petro “expressed support for the transitional council” and the need for international cooperation to restore security in the country.

As part of the discussion on Colombia’s accession to BRICS, Petro and Lula notably touched on the possibility of creating a special development bank for Latin American countries. It could benefit from the experience gained by the New Development Bank (NDB) headquartered in Shanghai, China.

BRICS is a political, economic, and social group that controls 37% of the world’s GDP. Launched on June 16, 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, later joined by South Africa, the organization recently expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Argentina, invited to participate, during the Alberto Fernandez administration, initially said yes, but declined after the election of current President Javier Milei.