Azerbaijan has formally applied for membership of the BRICS loose association of developing countries, according to the pro-government news outlet Report. The outlet quoted the spokesman of the foreign ministry, Aykhan Hajizade. 

Azerbaijan has previously expressed interest in joining. On July 3, during the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Azerbaijan and the People's Republic of China adopted a joint declaration establishing a strategic partnership. As outlined in paragraph 4.5 of the declaration, Azerbaijan expressed its intention to join BRICS, while China welcomed Azerbaijan's aspiration to deepen cooperation within the SCO framework and supported efforts to elevate Azerbaijan's legal status within the organization.

The speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, Sahiba Gafarova, also said at a plenary session of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St. Petersburg on July 11 that her country wants to be a full-fledged BRICS member.

Grigory Karasin, Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council's Committee on International Affairs, welcomed the news. According to him, although a clear mechanism for admitting new members to BRICS has not yet been established, Russia will continue to support this effort.

Earlier, on August 18, the former Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu mentioned "a long queue of those willing to join BRICS". "I believe this will be resolved in the coming years," Karasin added, echoing Bulbuloglu's expectation of a long process.

"I do not exclude that the application of Azerbaijan can be considered at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024 and the decision on its accession to the association can be taken," Karasin's first deputy chairman, Vladimir Dzhabarov told PNP. Putin also invited Aliyev to the Kazan meeting on his recent visit to Baku.

There are some doubts about the feasibility of this ambitious goal. According to independent researcher Shujaat Ahmadzada, this could be a simple PR move by Azerbaijan, trying to demonstrate that the country is trying to keep a balance by trying to align in multiple directions.

The BRICS countries — an acronym introduced by Goldman Sachs banker Jim O’Neill in 2001, representing Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later South Africa — seek to position their economies as competitors to the traditional Western powers, particularly the United States. 

BRICS itself is not a politically unified structure like the EU or the USA – Russia and China are autocratic behemoths, while Brazil, South Africa and India are regarded as democracies despite their shortcomings. Nor have BRICS countries taken a united stance on Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Russia's friendship with BRICS countries such as China has, however, been beneficial to it, helping her to bypass sanctions.

However, when it comes to extending membership to new states, unlike Russia and China, Brazil and particularly India have not been supportive of enlargement. As Karasin noted, there is no formal application process or set criteria for joining BRICS. Countries are often added to the list of potential future members after expressing interest informally just like Azerbaijan.

The fact that India has a veto power, might hinder Azerbaijan's efforts given their close military relationship with Armenia. This wouldn't be the first time India vetoed an interested party. Last year in August, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune publicly expressed Algeria's interest in joining BRICS. However, according to claims by Algerian media, India vetoed the accession at the request of France. According to some researchers, India believes that the group should address its internal matters before considering new memberships.