The
country shares with the BRICS members and partners a commitment to a
more inclusive and representative international order. Vietnam becomes
the tenth BRICS partner country
Published on Jun 13, 2025 1:54 PM - Modified a day ago
In
its capacity as pro tempore BRICS Chair, the Government of Brazil
announces the formal admission of Vietnam as a partner country of the
group. The Government of Brazil welcomes the decision of the Vietnamese
Government.
Vietnam becomes the tenth BRICS partner country,
alongside Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan. The partner-country category was
established at the XVI BRICS Summit, in Kazan, in October 2024
The official announcement by the Brazilian government underscored Vietnam’s strategic importance
In a significant diplomatic development, Vietnam
has officially become a BRICS partner country. The Brazilian
government, holding the rotating BRICS presidency as pro tempore Chair
for 2025, announced this decision on Saturday.
This move significantly
expands BRICS’s influence, incorporating a vibrant Southeast Asian
economy into its network.
Vietnam’s
formal recognition follows a period of active engagement and clear
interest from Hanoi. Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for Vietnam’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, confirmed Vietnam’s proactive stance, emphasising
the nation’s aim to strengthen the voice and role of developing
countries within multilateral frameworks.
This aligns with Vietnam’s
established foreign policy of independence, self-reliance,
multilateralisation, and diversification of foreign relations, aspiring
to be a trusted partner and an active, responsible member of the
international community. Vietnam already holds a significant role in
various international forums, including the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC,
G7, G20, and the OECD.
The “partner country" category within BRICS was established at the 16th
BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.
This classification
enables countries to engage with the BRICS
bloc without full membership, facilitating broader cooperation and
dialogue.
Vietnam joins as the tenth partner country, alongside Belarus,
Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and
Uzbekistan.
AST SpaceMobile reaches deal to bankroll Ligado’s Viasat settlement
by Jason Rainbow June 13, 2025Illustration of AST TAMPA, Fla. — AST SpaceMobile has reached a deal enabling bankrupt satellite operator Ligado Networks to pay the more than $500 million it owes Viasat, in exchange for long-term access to L-band spectrum to boost its planned direct-to-smartphone services.
Under the agreement announced June 13, AST SpaceMobile would provide about $550 million to Ligado, of which $535 million would go to Viasat-owned Inmarsat to settle the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) operator’s opposition to its bankruptcy restructuring plan.
Pending bankruptcy court approval of the agreement, Ligado would be obligated to begin making quarterly payments to Inmarsat of around $16 million from Sept. 30 for the radio waves, which sit adjacent to Ligado’s spectrum to form a contiguous swath of L-band over North America.
These quarterly payments would escalate 3% annually through the end of the agreement in 2107.
Ligado uses these frequencies to provide mobile satellite connectivity from geostationary orbit to government and enterprise customers.
The operator has long aimed to repurpose the spectrum for a terrestrial 5G network, but those plans have stalled amid GPS interference concerns raised by government agencies and parts of the telecoms and satellite industries.
Legal saga Days after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Ligado sued Inmarsat Jan. 7 for allegedly breaching their 2007 L-band cooperation agreement by not upgrading satellite terminals to avoid interfering with the network.
Ligado’s lawsuit has been stayed following the agreement, and is set to be dismissed entirely, subject to certain conditions following bankruptcy court approval.
Ligado has also launched legal action against the U.S. government over an alleged GPS interference misinformation campaign about its proposed 5G network, which the company claims was blocked in favor of Department of Defense use of the spectrum.
In May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed to let the government challenge a ruling that had partly rejected its bid to dismiss Ligado’s lawsuit.
Empowering services AST SpaceMobile said Inmarsat has agreed to support its efforts to obtain regulatory approval for using L-band spectrum from non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites as part of their deal.
Combined with cellular spectrum from partners AT&T and Verizon, AST SpaceMobile said the frequencies would support broadband speeds of up to 120 megabits per second for unmodified smartphones beyond the reach of terrestrial networks across the U.S.
The Texas-based startup, which has secured commitments for a $550 million loan to support the deal, currently operates five commercial BlueBird satellites in low Earth orbit.
AST SpaceMobile’s obligation to begin making spectrum access usage
payments to Ligado will begin on September 30, 2025 per the Term Sheet.
AST SpaceMobile currently operates its first five commercial BlueBird
satellites into low Earth orbit, each the largest-ever commercial
communications arrays deployed into low Earth orbit, reaching
approximately 700 square feet in size.
These initial satellites will
offer non-continuous cellular broadband service across the United States
and in select markets globally and will target approximately 100%
nationwide coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells in the
United States. The next-generation Block 2 BlueBirds featuring up to
2,400 square-foot communications arrays, are designed to deliver up to
10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird satellites in orbit,
enabling peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps, supporting
voice, full data, and video applications, and other native cellular
capabilities.
Starting next month, it plans to deploy satellites every one to two months on average, enabling beta services before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. Broader space-enabled commercial services, including video conferencing, are slated for early 2026.
A year later, they joined other L-band operators to form the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA), aimed at promoting MSS-based direct-to-device services as an alternative to solutions using traditional cellular spectrum.
Mark Dankberg, Viasat chair and CEO, said settling Inmarsat’s long-running dispute with Ligado not only improves Viasat’s balance sheet by helping pay down some of its $5.6 billion in net debt, but also reinforces its positioning in the evolving MSS ecosystem. “We saw the opportunity of a favorable outcome when completing the Inmarsat acquisition”in 2023, he said, “and not only anticipated the potential of utilizing the cash proceeds from such an agreement to repay debt, which will soon further strengthen our capital position, but to also advance our growth strategy. “To that end, we look forward to continuing our activities with the MSSA to ensure an open architecture, standards based multi-orbit approach to MSS based on continued cooperation mechanisms among MSS operators.” Ligado’s broader restructuring plan calls for converting $7.8 billion in debt to equity, reducing its future debt to $1.2 billion. A Ligado spokesperson said the company plans to seek bankruptcy court approval for the AST SpaceMobile agreement later this month, targeting confirmation of the restructuring plan in early August. RELATED AST SpaceMobile ramping up launches ahead of beta service this year
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