After Azerbaijan applied for membership in BRICS, Turkey also expressed its intention to join the organization. Considering the alliance of both countries, it is not ruled out that membership in the organization will potentially increase economic and political growth and development between the countries.
the topic Oku.AzEngin Özer, a Turkish expert who has assessed the BRICS, said that today the BRICS are only an economic community: “The BRICS members do not yet have a customs union between them and it is a new structure that is just beginning to form. We do not yet know how the BRICS will develop in the future, but there are several options related to this on the agenda. The first is to finance the credit needs of the member countries with their national currencies. The second is to abolish the dollar in trade between these countries. But of course, if the BRICS develop, they will become a political structure.”
“Turkey is trying to improve its relations with the BRICS member countries and increase its trade without giving up its candidacy for the European Union. However, no official application has been submitted yet. Ankara has only stated that it intends to do so. Turkey will not abandon the process of candidacy for the European Union, it can become a member of the BRICS and continue its candidacy for the EU. That is, even if Turkey is a member of this bloc today, this should not mean distancing itself from the West,” the expert said.
Expert economist Parviz Heydarov while Oku.AzHe said in a statement that BRICS is an economic bloc created against the world’s major developed countries:
“We have seen such organizations mainly in a military-political context. However, it seems that the process of economic blockade is expanding in the world, and competition and mutual economic interests play an important role in such blocs. The leading economic countries in the world are Western countries, led by the United States, but there are also a number of countries with great economic potential and located in a favorable position from the point of view of economic development, but the competitive factors in the world economic arena are so broad and so deep that we currently consider them to be the leaders of economic efforts. Countries are not interested in developing countries from an economic point of view, and see them as a source of raw materials. Therefore, the creation of economic blocs and organizations is of great importance for the interests of developing countries, it expands the possibilities of economic competition and struggle of such countries in relation to developed countries.”
“BRICS is basically a bloc created by five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Republic of South Africa. Among the countries I mentioned, Azerbaijan has very close economic relations with Russia. The history of this is measured in centuries. At the same time, Azerbaijan and China also have mutual economic relations and are interested in constantly developing their economic relations with this country. In addition, we have invested our oil revenues in the transport sector and, accordingly, Azerbaijan too. This year we will become a very important logistics center. We are North-South and East. We are playing the role of a transport corridor in the West direction and therefore we intend to further develop and strengthen our position in this area. Our desire to join such an economic bloc as BRICS should be considered natural. After joining such a group, it cannot be considered logical that a country like Turkey, which maintains open economic, political and trade relations with Azerbaijan, should be left out of this organization. “Therefore, this desire of Turkey was expected after we demonstrated our desire to join BRICS. If both Azerbaijan and Turkey become members of this organization, not only will conditions be created for further development of mutual economic and trade relations between the two countries, but at the same time, they will play an important role in the implementation of economic goals and trade relations between the BRICS members,” the economist stressed.
Our interviewer added that Azerbaijan’s transformation into a leading transport corridor in the region makes Baku attractive for BRICS member countries:
“Therefore, these countries should take the right initiative to have Azerbaijan and Turkey join this organization. Since today Azerbaijani gas is exported to Europe via Turkey, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is a project that has passed the test. At the same time, transportation from Baku to Tbilisi-Kars railway is carried out via Turkey, so it should be considered that the Russian side, as well as other Asian countries, are interested in earning income and making faster transportation. If they also become members of BRICS, it will be very important for other members of the organization, as well as for the mutual relations of both countries, and they will make great contributions.
Merahim Nasib
