During his daily morning news conference on Tuesday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that Mexico would not be joining the BRICS alliance of nations.

Instead the Mexican leader said that his nation would focus on building a stronger relationship with its neighboring countries, including the United States.

La Prensa Latina news outlet quoted Obrador as saying, “We are not going to participate in this bloc, in this association. Of course, we celebrate that other countries do. However, for reasons of proximity, geopolitics, we will continue strengthening the alliance with North America and the whole of the Americas.”

He was commenting in response to reports in the media that Mexico was one of the nations which had applied for membership in the five-nation economic group, which is currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The 15th summit of the bloc is set to begin in Johannesburg later this month.

Obrador said the reports were not true, emphasizing that the priority of his administration is developing ties through the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Mexico’s largest trading partners are the United States and Canada, with roughly 85% of Mexico’s exports destined for the two North American countries. Meanwhile the Washington Post reported that US imports from Mexico have grown in 2023 by $10 billion year over year. Obrador said he wants to see even more.

He said, “Our program is to bolster the treaty with the United States and Canada, for us to consolidate as a region… We are going to pursue the integration of the entire Americas in the medium- and long-term, but we will change old policies that have not worked and in addition, convince the political class, above all in the United States, of the importance of Latin America.”

On Monday, South African International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said the next BRICS summit will host 34 nations, and the economic bloc has received membership applications from over 20 countries, including  Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.