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BRICS to boost interaction with Africa — Russian diplomat

Egypt has also been involved with the association for a fairly long time

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. The BRICS association will increase interaction with African nations, Ambassador at large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Oleg Ozerov told TASS in an interview.

"The possibility of expanding membership in the association is indeed being discussed within the BRICS framework. A decision was made at the summit of ‘the Five’ on June 23-24 to launch a discussion for purposes of determining the principles, standards, criteria and procedures of this process. We welcome the interest of our Algerian friends to take part in cooperation within the association’s framework. We highly appreciate the participation of the President of Algeria in the dialog with developing economies in the BRICS plus format that took place on June 24 as part of the 14th summit of the association," Ozerov said.

Egypt has also been involved with the association for a fairly long time. "The decision on its accession to the New Development Bank was made last December. Egypt’s representatives have repeatedly participated in Outreach and BRICS plus segments as part of the activities of ‘the Five’," Ozerov noted. "Africa was also represented by the leaders of Senegal and Ethiopia during the previous BRICS summit in addition to Egypt and Algeria, and the Nigerian foreign minister was invited to the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting," the diplomat said.

Russia has consistently advocated for deepening BRICS interaction with the African continent, the diplomat stressed. "In particular, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin mentioned this at an expanded meeting of leaders of the five BRICS member-states in the BRICS plus format on June 24. We expect this avenue of efforts will get an extra impetus during the presidency period of our South African friends in the association in 2023," he added.

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Foreign policy BRICS

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