ISTANBUL/ANAKRA – Turkiye – formerly known as Turkey – aims at taking part in all important global platforms, said the ruling party said, as the country applied for the BRICS membership.

It was Omer Celik, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson, who made the comments at a press conference.

“Our president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] has many times stated that we want to become a BRICS member… The process is now under way,” said Celik.

NOT AN ALTERNATIVE TO EU

Earlier in June, Erdogan said he doesn’t view BRICS membership as an alternative to other groups, and the country officially remains a candidate to join the European Union.

Similarly, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was asked during a visit to China in June whether Turkiye might join BRICS group. His reply was, “We would like to, of course, why would we not?”

However, it is believed that the move is a product of frustration over a lack of progress in its decades-old bid to join the European Union.

Turkiye has been in talks to join the EU since 2005, but has encountered a series of obstacles, including what that bloc describes as the country’s democratic shortcomings.

Over the weekend, Erdogan said Turkiye could become “a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it improves its relations with the East and the West simultaneously”.

“Any method other than this will not benefit Turkey, but will harm it,” the Turkish president remarked.

“We do not have to choose between the European Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as some people claim,” Erdogan said. “On the contrary, we have to develop our relations with both these and other organizations on a win-win basis.”

COUNTERWEIGHT TO THE US?  

In 2009, four emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – laid the foundation of BRIC. A year later, it was renamed as BRICS after South Africa joined the group.

However, expansion is in progress as more and more nations are in line to be part of BRICS, which sees itself as a counterweight to the US and Western-led global order.

That’s why Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group at the beginning of this year.

At the same time, there is also Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO) led mainly by China. The next SCO summit is scheduled for Oct 15-16 in Islamabad.

Established in 2001, by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, SCO has a stated aim of promoting cooperation and peace among its member states, as well as fostering “a new democratic, fair and rational international political and economic order”.

However, the organization now has nine members after Pakistan and India joined became its members in 2017 followed by Iran in 2023.

GEOPOLITICAL CENTER OF GRAVITY IS CHANGING

Earlier, Bloomberg had reported while quoting sources that the Erdogan thinks that the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting away from developed economies.

That’s why Turkiye wants to develop ties with all sides in a multipolar world, while still fulfilling its obligations as a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

On the other hand, Ankara maintained close ties with Moscow following Russian invasion of Ukraine, which created rifts within NATO.

Ankara thinks that the Western nations are thwarting Turkish aspirations for a self-sufficient defense industry and strong economy.

However, Fidan recently said rejuvenating the EU membership talks was “a strategic target”. He made these comments after attending informal talks with his EU counterparts last week for the first time in five years.