MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. BRICS member countries are working to create an exchange of precious metals, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS in an interview.

"Apart from a common investment platform, which the minister [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov] was talking about, there is also an idea to create a special platform designed to work in special economic zones, which practically all BRICS members have," he said. "There is also a recent, but very important, initiative to create an exchange of precious metals, along with a grain exchange."

During Russia’s BRICS chairmanship in 2024, at the Kazan summit, a number of Russian initiatives were adopted for implementation, including alternative payment platforms, mechanisms for settlements in national currencies, reinsurance facilities for intra-BRICS trade and with BRICS partners, the establishment of a grain exchange, and a new investment platform.

Commenting on these initiatives, Ryabkov said "there are all reasons and prerequisites for something tangible to emerge" in that regard.