Russia has pledged support for Ghana’s application to join the BRICS bloc as a partner country, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov promising to engage the group’s founding members to build consensus in favour of the West African nation.

Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed this in a Facebook post on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, following a breakfast meeting with Mr Lavrov and other African foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ongoing Russia-Africa Summit.

According to Mr Ablakwa, the Russian Foreign Minister assured Ghana of Moscow’s support and pledged to rally the other founding members of BRICS to back the country’s application.

Ghana announced its intention to join BRICS on October 6, 2026, after Cabinet approved the move. Mr Ablakwa made the announcement during a joint press briefing with India’s External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Accra.

Ghana is seeking partner-country status as part of broader efforts to diversify its economic and diplomatic relationships and expand opportunities for international cooperation.

Securing the status could open additional avenues for economic engagement, strengthen Ghana’s international partnerships and provide the country with more options to advance its development priorities.

Ablakwa said the Mahama administration remained committed to Ghana’s longstanding foreign policy of non-alignment, guided by the principle of being “friends of all, enemies to none”.

He stressed that the government would continue to pursue strategic partnerships in Ghana’s national interest while maintaining its established diplomatic principles.

BRICS is a grouping of countries that cooperate on economic, political, financial and development issues. It serves as a forum for member states to discuss shared interests, coordinate positions on international matters and promote greater representation for emerging economies in global governance.

The name originally came from the initials of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which were identified as major emerging economies. South Africa joined in 2011, adding the letter “S” and transforming BRIC into BRICS.

The grouping subsequently expanded, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invited to join in the 2023 expansion process. Indonesia formally became a full member in January 2025.

BRICS is not a traditional military alliance or a regional organisation with a single governing authority. Rather, it is a platform through which participating countries pursue cooperation while retaining their national sovereignty and independent foreign policies. The group does not have a constitutive treaty, a permanent secretariat or its own general budget.