Benefits of membership highlighted

Experts look at what Pakistan can deliver to and draw from BRICS

A successful application by Pakistan to join BRICS could help bolster its economic development and further contribute to the regional stability and prosperity of South Asia, experts say.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Pakistan has lodged the application to join the bloc, saying it is an important group of developing countries, TASS and Xinhua news agencies reported. "We have taken this decision after having noted the BRICS proclaimed openness to inclusive multilateralism," a ministry spokeswoman, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said on Thursday.

By joining the group, Pakistan can play an important role in furthering international cooperation and revitalizing inclusive multilateralism, she said.

Pakistan enjoys friendly ties with BRICS members as well as a newly invited group of countries, she said. "We also hope that BRICS will move forward on Pakistan's request in line with its commitment to inclusive multilateralism."

BRICS is a group of emerging economies including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Six other countries have been accepted to become members next year.

Zafar Uddin Mahmood, special assistant to the prime minister of Pakistan and former special envoy for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, said regional cooperation organizations are important in socio-economic development and ensuring peace.

"Being a developing country and with a population of around 250 million, Pakistan had been keen to become a part of BRICS. Pakistan genuinely feels that it cannot only contribute in meeting the objectives of BRICS but also benefit from the collective resources and valuable experience of the member countries."

Expansion of BRICS demonstrates that inclusiveness is the way forward for global harmony and development, and Pakistan looks forward to the opportunity to become a member, he said.

Tahir Farooq, vice-president and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, said Pakistan's application is a strategic move to enhance its global economic and diplomatic stature.

BRICS as an alliance of emerging economies offers numerous potential benefits to Pakistan, which is keen to bolster its economic and international presence, said Farooq, who is also editor-in-chief of Pakistan Economic Net and Daily Ittehad Media Group.

Joining BRICS could offer Pakistan several advantages such as creating closer ties with some of the world's fastest-growing economies, opening up new trade and investment opportunities, Farooq said. "It could also provide Pakistan with a platform to attract foreign investments, technology transfers and access to larger markets.

"Diplomatically, BRICS membership could amplify Pakistan's voice in international affairs, offering it greater leverage in global economic and political discussions."

Irfan Shahzad Takalvi, founder of the Eurasian Century Institute in Islamabad, said that Pakistan, despite its recent economic troubles, is a major developing economy. That Pakistan has cordial relations with China and other BRICS members would inject positive energy and vigor to the bloc, he said.

"For Pakistan it means enhanced diplomatic outreach and multiplied opportunities of cooperation, specially (in) economic (terms). Let us hope that certain quarters, including BRICS member India, would not try to color it negatively and seek to hinder it."

Pakistan's seeking entry to BRICS will pave the way for significant regional balance and improve its overall trade and investment framework, said Shujaat Ahmed, an independent economic analyst in Pakistan.

"As we look at BRICS, which is expanding with the inclusion of Argentina, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan will be able to benefit and improve its overall investment framework as it has bilateral investment treaties with Egypt and Iran."

Pakistan's inclusion in BRICS could have a positive impact on South Asia in several ways, Farooq said. Economically, Pakistan would be integrated more deeply into a network of emerging global economies.

Politically, Pakistan's involvement in BRICS could serve as a platform for greater regional collaboration and dialogue, possibly helping defuse long-standing regional tensions, he said.