“We may say that Venezuela is inside BRICS… Our ministers are taking part in the BRICS conferences, we participate in commissions, meetings of heads of the foreign ministries… We are on the orbit of BRICS, we are working,” the minister told the national La Iguana TV broadcaster in an interview.
Earlier in August, Gil said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had received an invitation to attend the next BRICS summit, which will take place in the Russian city of Kazan in October.
Venezuela announced its BRICS bid in 2023, with Maduro saying that the Latin American country expected to join the group at the BRICS summit in Russia in October 2024.
BRICS was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for the largest emerging economies, uniting Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the group in 2010. Russia assumed the bloc's rotating presidency on January 1. On the same day, BRICS expanded its membership to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.