Venezuela is betting on the BRICS nations for investment in its oil, gas and metals industries, President Nicolas Maduro has said.
"BRICS has a portfolio of opportunities in trade, and Venezuela is ready to be part of it. BRICS is a huge market for national producers," Maduro told journalists at a press conference on Friday. "Therefore, we strongly urge Venezuelan exporters to work in this direction. We have bet on BRICS."
He said that the biggest investments in Venezuela's crucial hydrocarbons sector were no longer from the hostile US, but from members of the group of emerging economies — especially Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"The largest investments we have in oil and gas come from the BRICS, and if these people in the north and their partners in the world make the mistake of their lives, then those oil and gas blocks that were already signed will go to our allies of the BRICS," Maduro noted.
"And if those people from the north [the US] and their followers in the world make the mistake of their lives, these oil and gas blocs, which have already been signed, will go to our allies in BRICS," the president warned.
Maduro also said the BRICS countries were investing in Venezuela's growing steel and aluminum industries.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said earlier that Maduro had received an invitation to the BRICS summit, which will be held in Kazan, Russia, in October.
The foreign minister had previously expressed the government's desire to become a BRICS member.
"Venezuela aims to officially become a BRICS member soon. We are strongly supported by Brazil, the Russian Federation, China, and South Africa itself. All countries support our candidacy," Gil told Sputnik on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.