FO says it was blocked from non-member BRICS meeting

Pakistan said on Monday a country blocked its participation in a high-level dialogue on global development held virtually on the sidelines of the BRICS meetings last week.

BRICS is an informal group of states comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

On June 24, leaders of two dozen non-member countries attended the BRICS meeting virtually but there was no representation from Islamabad.

In a statement issued today, the Foreign Office (FO) said that China, being the host country, engaged with Pakistan prior to the BRICS meetings, where decisions are taken after consultations with all BRICS members, including extending invitation to non-members.

However, it added: "Regrettably, one member blocked Pakistan’s participation". While the FO did not name the member, some media reports suggest it could have been India.

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"Pakistan stands ready to work with all developing countries, including the BRICS members for addressing the challenges faced by the global community," the FO said.

It said it hoped future engagement of the organization would be based on principles of "inclusivity keeping in view the overall interests of the developing world and in a manner that is devoid of narrow geo-political considerations".

Meanwhile, Pakistan congratulates China on the successful hosting of the BRICS meetings, adding that: "Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic partners and our iron brotherhood remains rock solid."

"The two countries are fully committed to take our all-round cooperation to higher levels both bilaterally and multilaterally."