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Putin discusses cooperation within BRICS in extended format with Ramaphosa — Kremlin

Russia assumed the one-year rotating chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2024

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa have discussed cooperation within BRICS in a new extended format, the press service of the Kremlin said in a statement following the conversation.

"In the context of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship that passed from South Africa, the issue of cooperation within the integration in a new extended format was discussed," the statement reads.

The BRICS group, established in 2006, first expanded in 2011, when South Africa joined the four founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The decision to invite six more countries to join BRICS, including Argentina, was made at the group’s summit in Johannesburg in August 2023. However, Argentina declined the invitation to join in late December. Five new members (Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia) formally became full-fledged members of the BRICS group on January 1.

Russia also assumed the one-year rotating chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2024. On Moscow’s watch, BRICS will carry out over 200 events covering a wide range of issues. The key event of Russia’s chairmanship will be the BRICS summit in October 2024 in Kazan, Tatarstan, in Russia’s Volga region.

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Foreign policy Vladimir Putin South Africa BRICS

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