Pakistan wants a table at BRICS. What stands in its way?
Pakistan wanted into BRICS at a moment when the grouping was preparing for its biggest expansion yet. It sought Russia's support, reached out to member countries and made clear that it wanted to be part of what it called an important organisation. Yet, nearly three years after formally announcing its application, Islamabad remains outside the expanded grouping.
The story of Pakistan's stalled BRICS bid began in an awkward fashion. In August 2023, when BRICS leaders agreed to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan was not among them. Asked whether Islamabad had been snubbed, Pakistan's Foreign Office sought to play down the setback, saying the country had not yet made a formal request to join the grouping.
Also read: BRICS 2026: PM Modi calls for top 10 trade barriers to be removed; says India is building ‘economic bridges’ to shield Global South
"We will examine the latest developments and make a determination about our future engagement with BRICS," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the time.
Three months later, Islamabad's position was clearer. In November, Pakistan's envoy to Moscow, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, said Pakistan had applied for BRICS membership for 2024 and was counting on Russia to help it through the process.
The timing mattered. Russia was due to take over the BRICS presidency in 2024, and Pakistan saw that as an opportunity to push its application. Jamali said Islamabad was contacting member countries for support "in general and the Russian Federation in particular".
But the application was entering a grouping that had just become considerably larger and more consequential.
Pakistan made its pitch as BRICS was getting bigger
BRICS began as BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, following a meeting of their leaders on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. It held its first summit in 2009 and became BRICS after South Africa joined.
By 2023, the grouping was preparing for another major transformation. Its leaders agreed at the South Africa summit to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The expansion was to take the grouping beyond its original five members and give it a broader footprint across the Global South.
Pakistan therefore applied as BRICS was deciding not simply whether to add members, but how to manage a much larger grouping.
For Islamabad, Russia was an important part of that calculation. Jamali's November 2023 comments made clear that Pakistan was seeking Moscow's assistance during the membership process. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had also said in October that BRICS planned to agree on a list of candidates for partner-state status ahead of the 2024 summit in Kazan.
Pakistan could potentially count on China, described in the 2023 reporting as its "all-weather ally". But its application also had to contend with the positions of the other BRICS members, including India.
That is where the most significant obstacle identified in the reporting comes into view.
Also read: BRICS Summit 2026: Putin slams West's 'ugly' economic warfare, claims BRICS bloc has left G7 behind
India's power to veto a hurdle for Pakistan?
A August 2023 report by PTI noted that Pakistan could face a challenge because of India's presence in BRICS, with India described as having veto power to reject its request.
That made Pakistan's membership bid different from a straightforward application to join an expanding economic grouping. Pakistan could seek support from Russia and China, but India's position remained crucial.
The difficulty was therefore not simply that Pakistan had applied late or that BRICS had already selected another batch of new members. The reporting pointed to the presence of India itself as a major obstacle to Islamabad's entry.
Pakistan's own diplomatic messaging reflected the uncertainty. In August, after the first expansion announcement, its Foreign Office said Islamabad supported inclusive multilateralism and described Pakistan as an important developing country that had contributed to peace, solidarity and cooperation among countries of the Global South.
By November, it had moved from watching BRICS' expansion to actively seeking membership, with Russia specifically identified as a country whose support Pakistan wanted.
Yet the subsequent years have not produced Pakistan's admission.
Also read: Russian President Putin invites PM Modi for 24th India-Russia Summit, discuss bilateral ties, West Asia and Black Sea conflicts
Islamabad has moved closer to BRICS without becoming a member
There is an important wrinkle in Pakistan's BRICS story: even while its membership bid remained unresolved, Islamabad moved to strengthen its economic links with the grouping.
A 2025 Nikkei Asia report said Pakistan had purchased a $580 million stake in the BRICS-backed New Development Bank. The move was aimed at diversifying Pakistan's financing options and reducing its dependence on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
That distinction matters. Pakistan has sought access to institutions associated with BRICS and has openly pursued membership, but the two developments are not the same thing. Buying a stake in the New Development Bank did not make Pakistan a BRICS member.
Meanwhile, BRICS itself continued to expand. By India's 2026 chairship, the grouping comprised 11 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.
India is now chairing a much larger BRICS at a time when the grouping describes itself as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South. Its members collectively account for around 49.5% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade.
At the 2026 BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared alongside leaders and senior representatives from several member countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
The forum's agenda spans trade, investment, finance, technology and development, while India's chairship is focused on turning the expanded grouping into more meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes.
The story of Pakistan's stalled BRICS bid began in an awkward fashion. In August 2023, when BRICS leaders agreed to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan was not among them. Asked whether Islamabad had been snubbed, Pakistan's Foreign Office sought to play down the setback, saying the country had not yet made a formal request to join the grouping.
Also read: BRICS 2026: PM Modi calls for top 10 trade barriers to be removed; says India is building ‘economic bridges’ to shield Global South
"We will examine the latest developments and make a determination about our future engagement with BRICS," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the time.
Three months later, Islamabad's position was clearer. In November, Pakistan's envoy to Moscow, Muhammad Khalid Jamali, said Pakistan had applied for BRICS membership for 2024 and was counting on Russia to help it through the process.
The timing mattered. Russia was due to take over the BRICS presidency in 2024, and Pakistan saw that as an opportunity to push its application. Jamali said Islamabad was contacting member countries for support "in general and the Russian Federation in particular".
But the application was entering a grouping that had just become considerably larger and more consequential.
Pakistan made its pitch as BRICS was getting bigger
BRICS began as BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, following a meeting of their leaders on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. It held its first summit in 2009 and became BRICS after South Africa joined.
By 2023, the grouping was preparing for another major transformation. Its leaders agreed at the South Africa summit to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The expansion was to take the grouping beyond its original five members and give it a broader footprint across the Global South.
Pakistan therefore applied as BRICS was deciding not simply whether to add members, but how to manage a much larger grouping.
For Islamabad, Russia was an important part of that calculation. Jamali's November 2023 comments made clear that Pakistan was seeking Moscow's assistance during the membership process. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had also said in October that BRICS planned to agree on a list of candidates for partner-state status ahead of the 2024 summit in Kazan.
Pakistan could potentially count on China, described in the 2023 reporting as its "all-weather ally". But its application also had to contend with the positions of the other BRICS members, including India.
That is where the most significant obstacle identified in the reporting comes into view.
Also read: BRICS Summit 2026: Putin slams West's 'ugly' economic warfare, claims BRICS bloc has left G7 behind
India's power to veto a hurdle for Pakistan?
A August 2023 report by PTI noted that Pakistan could face a challenge because of India's presence in BRICS, with India described as having veto power to reject its request.
That made Pakistan's membership bid different from a straightforward application to join an expanding economic grouping. Pakistan could seek support from Russia and China, but India's position remained crucial.
The difficulty was therefore not simply that Pakistan had applied late or that BRICS had already selected another batch of new members. The reporting pointed to the presence of India itself as a major obstacle to Islamabad's entry.
Pakistan's own diplomatic messaging reflected the uncertainty. In August, after the first expansion announcement, its Foreign Office said Islamabad supported inclusive multilateralism and described Pakistan as an important developing country that had contributed to peace, solidarity and cooperation among countries of the Global South.
By November, it had moved from watching BRICS' expansion to actively seeking membership, with Russia specifically identified as a country whose support Pakistan wanted.
Yet the subsequent years have not produced Pakistan's admission.
Also read: Russian President Putin invites PM Modi for 24th India-Russia Summit, discuss bilateral ties, West Asia and Black Sea conflicts
Islamabad has moved closer to BRICS without becoming a member
There is an important wrinkle in Pakistan's BRICS story: even while its membership bid remained unresolved, Islamabad moved to strengthen its economic links with the grouping.
A 2025 Nikkei Asia report said Pakistan had purchased a $580 million stake in the BRICS-backed New Development Bank. The move was aimed at diversifying Pakistan's financing options and reducing its dependence on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
That distinction matters. Pakistan has sought access to institutions associated with BRICS and has openly pursued membership, but the two developments are not the same thing. Buying a stake in the New Development Bank did not make Pakistan a BRICS member.
Meanwhile, BRICS itself continued to expand. By India's 2026 chairship, the grouping comprised 11 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.
India is now chairing a much larger BRICS at a time when the grouping describes itself as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South. Its members collectively account for around 49.5% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade.
At the 2026 BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared alongside leaders and senior representatives from several member countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
The forum's agenda spans trade, investment, finance, technology and development, while India's chairship is focused on turning the expanded grouping into more meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes.
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