Vietnam joins BRICS as partner country

Vietnam has been officially admitted as the 10th partner country of the BRICS group of emerging economies. While partners lack decision-making power, they can take part in the BRICS Leaders' Summit.
Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson, Pham Thu Hang, said in a press conference on Thursday that the country is "ready to coordinate and connect the cooperation programs of the BRICS group with relevant multilateral mechanisms, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region, as well as in the world."
She also said the country is willing to work with other members in areas such as trade and investment.
BRICS was originally made up of the five emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It has since expanded to 11 members, including Middle Eastern nations, such as Iran and Egypt.
Some Southeast Asian countries, which are strengthening economic ties with China, have also shown interest in joining the bloc.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has threatened BRICS members that try to use their own currency for financial transactions. He says these nations could face 100 percent tariffs if they move away from the US dollar.

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U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, who was appointed by Trump, wrote to Wilson in late May expressing his support for the bill but acknowledging that the law does not allow living people to appear on U.S. currency. In a letter Wilson's office shared with The Washington Post, Beach wrote, 'I am willing to help in any way that I can to make this a reality.' A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) did not respond to an email seeking comment. Spokespeople for other Republican representatives contacted for this story pointed to statements made when the bills were introduced. Former Republican congressman Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, who served in Congress from 2005 to 2018 and was a chair of the House Ethics Committee, said he thinks the bills honoring Trump would probably make some current GOP House members uncomfortable and he doesn't see much appetite for action on any of them. 'It's better to name buildings and institutions and airports for politicians long after they're out of office, after there's been some time to reflect on their records and their place in history,' he said. The various proposals honoring Trump this session are 'being done to please the president,' Dent said in an interview on Friday. 'I mean, he loves that kind of attention.' Dent added that he thinks it is 'ill-advised' to pass legislation bestowing honor on people in such a politically charged atmosphere. 'Usually when you do these types of honorifics, they are moments of celebration and joy to remember that individual,' Dent said. 'I don't think that's what would happen today with the current president, certainly not while he's in office. Maybe over time, after he's long gone, maybe people's views will shift on him. Who knows?' GW's Burgat says there's a risk involved that the legislation introduced extolling Trump diminishes the institution's reputation and its work. A 2023 Congressional Research Service report on commemorations noted that beginning in the 1960s, Congress attempted to reduce legislative proposals for naming federal buildings, designating federal holidays and establishing monuments. 'These initiatives were in response to concern that the legislative time spent on commemorative measures was excessive,' the report stated. 'It undermines the job itself,' Burgat said. 'Your job is to write laws, to study them. Not just memorialize the current president.'