Sri Lanka's BRICS membership application not rejected: Foreign Ministry

Sri Lanka’s bid to join BRICS has not ended and its application to join the grouping is still pending, the Foreign Ministry here said on Sunday.

It said that Sri Lanka had applied for membership and the foreign minister Vijitha Herath had written to his counterparts expressing Sri Lanka’s interest to join BRICS.

“Pending requests for membership from many countries, including Sri Lanka, will be considered by BRICS member countries in due course," the statement added.

The statement came after local media reports said Sri Lanka’s application to become a member in the BRICS has been rejected.

Meanwhile, the statement also said Sri Lanka’s intention to join the New Development Bank (NDB) was welcomed by the president of the NDB.

The New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states.

BRICS founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China welcomed South Africa in 2011 and has now expanded further with the addition of four new members.