Cuba has already sent an official application for obtaining partnership status in BRICS, Russian Ambassador to Havana Viktor Coronelli told a TASS correspondent.

"Cuba has shown interest in joining the BRICS association," the diplomat pointed out. "Moreover, they have already submitted an official application to the Russian side for partner status, as Russia is chairing BRICS this year. The Cubans have interest and the corresponding application has been formalized," Coronelli emphasized.

He also confirmed that Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has received an invitation to participate in the BRICS Plus/Outreach format meeting to be held on the sidelines of the summit. "The Cuban president has an invitation, we expect him to visit Kazan on October 22-24," Coronelli said.

The Russian ambassador to Havana recalled that this year Cuban representatives took part in a number of events held by BRICS in an expanded format. "In our opinion, they are interested in almost all areas of BRICS activities," he emphasized. "And we have to wait for the decision on granting partnership status to see where they will participate more or less actively," the diplomat concluded.