By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam is ready to work with BRICS, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said as he attended the group's summit for the first time this week and held meetings with Chinese and Russian leaders.
Chinh fell short of stating Vietnam's explicit interest in joining the club, a move that could bring the Communist-run southeast Asian nation closer to China and Russia but might impact relations with the United States.
"Chinh affirms Viet Nam stands ready to work with BRICS countries and the international community to realise the idea of working together to build a better world for all," the government said on its online portal on Friday.
A Vietnamese official told Reuters before the three-day BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan which ended yesterday, that Vietnam was interested in joining the bloc, but the timing and scope of application was not clear.
One official from a BRICS country said Vietnam had expressed interest in becoming a partner, which is a step toward possible membership.
The summit's final declaration said members endorsed "the modalities of BRICS Partner Country Category," without elaborating.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin said at the summit that more than 30 countries had expressed interest to join but it was not clear under which conditions.
Regardless of any formal application, Vietnam's ties with BRICS countries are already strong: Russia is its historical top supplier of weapons and China is a top economic partner.
Chinh held bilateral meetings in Kazan with Putin and the head of Russia's nuclear power corporation Rosatom to boost energy cooperation at a time when Vietnam is considering resuming its nuclear energy programme, Vietnam's government said.
He also met China's President Xi Jinping with rail links between the two neighbours being one of the topics discussed.
BETWEEN WEST AND BRICS
The industrial hub and major exporter to the United States and Europe has long pursued a balanced foreign policy aimed at keeping good relations with all world powers.
However, equidistance may be harder to defend if Vietnam formally applies to join BRICS, a grouping dominated by China and Russia and seen by some as a club for countries willing to challenge perceived Western-led global order.
BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group has expanded to nine members, adding last year Iran, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Many other countries have applied, including Vietnam's regional partners Thailand and Malaysia.
But a Vietnamese application might go down less well than others in Washington after the Biden administration invested large political capital to upgrade relations last year.
The U.S. embassy in Hanoi did not reply to a request for comment.
The West would certainly not see "with delight" such a decision, but would not want to interfere, a Hanoi-based Western diplomat said.