ST. PETERSBURG, October 4. /TASS/. The BRICS member states intend to agree on a list of candidates for the group’s partner countries by its next summit, which is scheduled to be held in 2024 under Russia’s chairmanship in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

"In order to implement the decisions made at the [Johannesburg] summit, work is underway on the modality for a new category of partner countries, whose status is supposed to be similar to that of full-fledged members. The list of potential candidates is expected to be agreed on by the next BRICS summit in Kazan in October next year. We don’t rule out that the list will include, in particular, a number of Latin American countries," Ryabkov pointed out at the plenary session of the Sixth International Forum titled "Russia and Ibero-America in a Turbulent World: History and Perspectives," which is being hosted by St. Petersburg State University.

The senior diplomat noted that Russia welcomed the decision to invite Argentina to join the BRICS and the desire of the countries of the region to join the group’s activities. "We hope that this step will serve to expand our ties with the region and strengthen the strategic partnership between our countries. A number of Latin American nations have shown an interest in building contacts with the BRICS," Ryabkov stressed.

According to the Russian deputy foreign minister, Moscow’s BRICS chairmanship in 2024 will pay special attention to expanding "the circle of BRICS friends," including in Latin America. "It is fully in line with the motto for Russia’s BRICS year, which reads as follows: ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Justice in Global Development and Security,’" he added.