Ghana-Russia Center welcomes Cabinet’s decision to pursue BRICS membership

The Ghana-Russia Center for Commerce and Relations has welcomed Cabinet’s decision to approve Ghana’s formal application to join BRICS, describing it as a validation of the Centre’s earlier push for stronger engagement with Russia and the wider emerging-economy bloc.

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced on October 6, 2026, that President John Dramani Mahama’s Cabinet had approved Ghana’s formal application to join BRICS.

He said the decision forms part of efforts to diversify Ghana’s international partnerships, widen the country’s economic options and strengthen its geopolitical and economic influence, particularly through closer cooperation within the Global South.

India, whose External Affairs Minister was in Accra at the time, was among the BRICS members whose support Ghana had already sought.

The announcement follows earlier comments by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana-Russia Center, John Aggrey, who had indicated that Ghana was moving towards stronger engagement with BRICS.

Speaking to Sputnik Africa about three weeks before the government’s announcement, Mr Aggrey called for “concrete steps and concrete actions” and described BRICS as “the way forward.”

Personal Assistant to the CEO of the Ghana-Russia Center, Ernest Adu Frimpong, said the Cabinet decision validates a direction the Centre had already been promoting through its work in trade, investment and people-to-people relations.

“The Center is not a ministry and it does not speak for Cabinet,” Mr Frimpong said.

However, he said the organisation “sit[s] at the junction of commerce and relations between Ghana and a founding BRICS member.”

According to him, the Centre’s work has been focused on turning diplomatic goodwill into practical partnerships.

“Its brief has been to turn diplomatic goodwill into practical links,” he said.

He cited “Trade corridors, investment interest, education and technology partnerships, mentorships, and a clearer Ghanaian presence in forums where the emerging economies set their own terms” as some of the areas of focus.

Mr Frimpong said the government’s decision demonstrates that the Centre’s advocacy for diversified partnerships is gaining policy relevance.

“It shows that the Ghana-Russia Center for Commerce and Relations is not a spectator in this shift.”

He added that the Centre had been “preparing the ground” by explaining why diversified partnerships serve Ghana’s industrial and resource ambitions, while keeping channels open with Russian and wider BRICS counterparts.

The Centre has also stressed the importance of ensuring that Ghana’s engagement with BRICS produces tangible economic benefits rather than remaining a diplomatic declaration.

Mr Frimpong said the organisation had been “insisting that influence is built through concrete cooperation, not slogans.”

Ghana’s application will still have to be considered by the BRICS grouping before the country can be admitted.

“That process will take diplomacy and it will take partners who already understand Ghana’s case,” Mr Frimpong said.

He said the Centre’s role would become even more visible as Ghana moves into the next stage of the process.

“The Center’s role in the weeks ahead is unchanged and now more visible to help make the case practical, so that a Cabinet decision becomes trade, investment and lasting cooperation,” he said.

BRICS has emerged as an increasingly influential platform for cooperation among emerging economies, with its membership expanding beyond its original members-Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.