RIO DE JANEIRO, April 29. /TASS/. The work on a joint statement after the BRICS ministerial meeting that is being held in Rio de Janeiro on April 28 and 29 continues, the document will cover many topics, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov said.
"We have a draft, a rather comprehensive one. But the work is not yet over," he told reporters.
Established in 2006, the BRIC group was made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China. In 2011, South Africa joined the group, adding the "S" to the acronym. Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia joined the association as full-fledged members from January 1, 2024. Indonesia joined it on January 6, 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan were granted the status of partner countries on January 1, 2025, and Nigeria was added to the list of partner countries on January 17.
Brazil took over the BRICS’ year-long presidency on January 1, 2025.