YEKATERINBURG, November 27. /TASS/. Russia will hand over the rotating presidency in the BRICS group of nations to Brazil during this year’s final meeting of sherpas and sous-sherpas in Russia’s Urals city of Yekaterinburg.
The meeting will provide an opportunity to sum up the results of Russia’s presidency and outline future plans.
Russia took over the year-long presidency in BRICS on January 1, 2024. Russia’s presidency featured more than 250 various events, with the BRICS summit in the Volga Area city of Kazan on October 22-24 being the central one. The first meeting of sherpas within the framework of the Russian presidency took place in Moscow on January 30 and February 1.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope that Brazil’s forthcoming presidency would focus, among other things, on payment platforms, as well as common mechanisms of financial transactions and insurance. Moscow also expects that work will continue on Russian initiatives put forward this year, such as the BRICS grain exchange, investment mechanisms, and working groups on transport and nuclear medicine.
BRICS partner nations
Following the 2024 BRICS summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the list of the group’s partner countries had been agreed upon, but did not provide details on its composition. He explained that invitations will be sent to these states first, and once positive responses are received, the list will be announced.
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who is Russia’s BRICS sherpa, in the months leading up to January, the Russian presidency will reach out to potential partners. The Russian side is likely to inform its partners about the outcomes of this work during the meeting in Yekaterinburg.
The BRICS group was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining it in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, became its full-fledged members.