ST. PETERSBURG, September 20. /TASS/. The issues of BRICS expansion will be discussed at a ministerial meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a session on BRICS cooperation prospects on the sidelines of the Fourth Eurasian Women’s Forum.
"By now, over 30 countries of the Global South and East have displayed interest in developing interaction with BRICS in various ways. Their numbers continue to grow," he said. "And literally next week, on September 26 in New York, BRICS foreign ministers will continue talks on this most important issue. Undoubtedly, the Russian chairmanship plans to conclude this at a meeting of leaders in Kazan," he added.
The senior diplomat noted that within the framework of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship, 160 events at various levels had already been held out of the 250 scheduled along all three main interaction tracks: politics and security, the economy and finance and cultural and humanitarian interaction. "A number of productive events at the ministerial level were held. Their results will certainly be reflected in the summit’s declaration. On the political track, we are boosting coordination at international venues, above all, at the UN," he noted.
"Active work is underway on other tracks, involving such security aspects as fighting terrorism, money laundering, corruption, other new challenges and threats; the shaping of the field of interaction in the information space," Ryabkov added.
TASS is the forum’s general information partner. The Eurasian Women’s Forum is organized by the Federation Council (the upper house of Russia’s parliament) and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations.