(Kitco News)—The relationship between the U.S. and the BRICS bloc could soon become more contentious as Cuba — which is just 90 miles from Florida — has formally requested to join the growing economic collective.
“Cuba has officially requested its incorporation into the BRICS as a ‘Partner Country,’ through a letter to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who holds the Presidency of the Group, which is consolidating as a key player in global geopolitics and hope for the countries of the South,” said Carlos Pereira, director of bilateral relations at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, in an X post shared by the ministry's official account.
Notably, applying as a “partner country” will not mean full membership, but BRICS diplomats have promoted this track as an alternative way to engage countries of the Global South. Cuba previously requested to join as a full member in 2023 but the overture was not well received.
Viktor Koronelli, Russian ambassador to Cuba, confirmed the application, telling Russian state agency TASS on Monday that Havana has officially applied for a partnership with BRICS.
“Cuba has shown interest in joining the BRICS association,” Koronelli said. “Moreover, they have already submitted an official application to the Russian side for partner status, as Russia is chairing BRICS this year. The Cubans have interest and the corresponding application has been formalized.”
Koronelli also said that Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was sent an invitation to participate in the BRICS Plus/Outreach format meeting to be held on the sidelines of the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan. “The Cuban president has an invitation, we expect him to visit Kazan on October 22-24,” he said.
Koronelli noted that several Cuban representatives took part in a number of events held by BRICS in an expanded format this year.
“In our opinion, they are interested in almost all areas of BRICS activities,” he highlighted. “And we have to wait for the decision on granting partnership status to see where they will participate more or less actively.”
In early 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates became the first new BRICS members since December 2010, when South Africa became a member. They joined Russia, China, India, and Brazil as a collective of emerging economies that look to counterbalance the current G7 Western-led world. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join the bloc but is still considering the matter. Argentina was also invited to join but has since withdrawn its membership application.
Membership in BRICS is by invitation only. According to Putin, at least 34 countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Venezuela, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Nigeria, want to join the collective.
Cuba has long had a cooperative relationship with Russia and was the focal point of the Cuban Missle Crisis in 1962 when then-President John F. Kennedy warned of a serious nuclear missile threat from the small island nation that had established close ties with communist Russia.
This concern was revisited in June of this year when Russian warships briefly docked at Cuba in a possible demonstration of strength to Washington, which has backed Ukraine against Russian invasion forces.
Cuba’s bid to become a partner country of the bloc follows an application for membership from Azerbaijan, which came after a meeting between Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
