Mali hopes to join the group soon along with other Sahel countries, including Burkina Faso and Niger, Malian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdoulaye Diop, told Sputnik.
"I do hope that in the near future, our country, collectively with the Confederation of the Sahel, would approach BRICS for membership." BRICS represents a model of multilateralism and could make Mali's voice better heard in the international arena, the minister added.
The alliance could also open up additional economic opportunities for the country, such as using national currencies in trade and access to funding from the New Development Bank, Diop concluded.
Abdoulaye Diop also added that Mali's investigation into Ukraine's involvement with terrorists in Africa should not take long since Kiev has already publicly acknowledged such cooperation.
"This investigation was just opened a few days ago, but I don't think there is much to do, because Ukrainian officials themselves proclaim openly on record their implication and their involvement with terrorist networks in providing them with intelligence, equipment, and even claiming that additional things will happen," Diop said.
The results of the investigation will be published by the Malian authorities in due course, the minister noted.
The UN Security Council "remains silent" on the compliant Mali sent in August in connection with Ukraine's support for terrorists, Diop said.
In early August, nine Senegalese public organizations said that a video published by Ukrainian defense intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov confirming Kiev's involvement in the attack on the Wagner Group in Mali was additional evidence of Ukraine’s support for armed groups in that country.