MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Russia will seek ways for smooth economic cooperation within the BRICS despite the imposed Western sanctions, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said in an interview with TASS.

"As for the economic track, the Russian [BRICS] Presidency will focus on issues related to further strengthening strategic partnership between member states in the fields of trade, investment, innovative technologies and social affairs," the Kremlin aide said. "We will need to step up multifaceted cooperation between our countries’ business circles and expand business ties, particularly between small and medium entrepreneurs. We will search for the best ways to increase mutual trade and investment, as well as to address ways to ensure financial stability. We will also explore the possibility of unhindered cooperation amid risks related to growing unilateral sanctions and protectionist measures," he emphasized.

According to Ushakov, the common goal of the association is to create conditions for reliable economic growth of all BRICS countries. "To achieve that, we will need to step up multifaceted cooperation between our countries’ business circles and expand business ties, particularly between small and medium entrepreneurs," he pointed out.

New applications are coming in to join BRICS, but it is premature to talk about a second ‘wave’ of expansion, Yury Ushakov added.

"Whereas by the Johannesburg summit [last year], as I mentioned above, there were just over twenty of them, today we have received a number of new applications. Although it is premature to speculate about a second ‘wave’ of expansion, all the countries of the association agree that the interest toward BRICS, displayed by many countries can only be welcomed and encouraged," said Ushakov, who chairs the organizing committee of Russia’s BRICS presidency.

He noted that "the number of those wishing to establish some cooperation with our association continues to grow." "This clearly demonstrates that the principles on which our association operates are very close to a wide range of countries, in fact, to the global majority," the Kremlin aide stressed.

He reiterated that "another important decision was made in Johannesburg. It concerns the development of a new form of interaction between BRICS and non-member countries." "The issue on the agenda is to define the modalities of a new, special category of BRICS partner states, which would participate in cooperation on specific projects in both the political and economic spheres," Ushakov said.