MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. Cooperation within BRICS allows finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges in world politics and can serve as a model for equitable communication between nations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at the opening of a BRICS Media Summit.
"The BRICS culture invariably makes it possible to find solutions, sometimes even to the most difficult issues," he said. "This form of cooperation should become a model of equitable interstate communication. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find answers to the challenges facing the world. There is no room for coercion and imposition of someone else’s priorities, and this is a great asset of the BRICS."
"In the context of a rapidly changing world order, BRICS is increasingly acting as an innovative format of interaction that unites countries that are essentially independent civilizations, countries with different political and economic systems and often divergent views on certain aspects of the global agenda," the official went on to say.
According to Ryabkov, years of joint work in BRICS created "a special culture of dialogue."
"Open and trusting relations have developed that are based on the principles of sovereign equality, respect for the choice of one's own path of development, and unconditional consideration of each other's interests," he said. "This is everything that the Russian Federation, as well as other BRICS countries, stands for on the international stage in the face of growing difficulties in ensuring a regime of interstate communication and interaction that is based on international law."
BRICS expansion
"Since January 1, the number of BRICS members has doubled," the official continued. "We note a continued rapid growth of interest from developing countries in deepening cooperation with the group. More than 30 countries have already expressed their intentions to do so, and the list continues to grow. BRICS is gradually becoming one of the centers of gravity for the Global South and East, which increasingly express the genuine interests of the global majority."
In the context of new countries joining BRICS, one of the unconditional priorities of collective work is the consolidation of partnership within the group, Ryabkov said.
"We pay special attention to the development of interaction with the developing states of the Global South and East. We seek to involve them in various formats and mechanisms, and the media summit is one of them," he said.
"Our efforts, of course, are focused on helping to ensure favorable conditions for consistent development of Russia and other BRICS countries for strengthening our social, economic, investment, innovative and technological human potential," the official said. "We are continuing our relevant work both through relevant agencies and experts and civil society."
Russian presidency
"As part of the Russian presidency, thanks to the interested participation and support of our partners in the group, we have already managed to achieve notable results," Ryabkov stated. "More than 150 events of various levels have been held out of 250 that had been planned in all three main areas of cooperation: politics and security, economy and finance, cultural and humanitarian communication. A number of important meetings were held at the ministerial level. Their results will be reflected in the declaration of the October meeting of leaders in Kazan."
The Russian year in BRICS, according to the deputy minister, will culminate with the meeting of heads of state in Kazan from October 22-24, the program of which envisages an extended session in the Outreach and BRICS+ formats with the participation of leaders of top developing countries and states chairing regional cooperation mechanisms.
"Our group is steadily moving forward," he said. "There are many tasks, they are not easy, but the accumulated experience and culture of cooperation allow us to say with confidence that we will solve them - solve them effectively and for the benefit of the peoples of our association. BRICS is a locomotive of progress."
Media summit
Moscow is hosting the BRICS Media Summit from September 13-17. The event brings together the heads of leading media outlets from the group’s member states and the countries that have applied to join BRICS. TASS is the organizer of the summit.