“Both countries are part of the group that received an invitation. We are confident that everything will work out as partners,” said the Russian diplomat, who stressed that negotiations on the inclusion of the invited states of the group in the status of partners have not yet been completed, but Russia has not received any refusal.

“For all invited countries this is a big and serious prospect, there are only a few days left, after which the corresponding list will be made public,” the official added.

On October 23rd, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov reported that a list of 13 states that could become BRICS partner countries had been agreed upon.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said on November 15th that Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia had become partners of the BRICS. Another deputy foreign minister, Andrei Rudenko, noted that Vietnam had also announced its desire to join as a partner state.

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