RABAT, September 24. /TASS/. Prime Minister of Burkina Faso Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela made a pitch for his country to join BRICS to counter "the domination of the dollar and the euro" and to enforce fairer trade relations with international players at a meeting with Russia’s Ambassador to the country Igor Martynov.

"[Tambela] also argued for Burkina Faso’s joining the integration of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), as he put it, to ‘struggle with the domination of the dollar and the euro’ and to reach ‘fairer trade relations on the international stage’," according to a statement released by the government of the West African republic on Facebook (social media site banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which is designated as extremist in Russia) following the meeting that took place on Monday.

Russia and Burkina Faso "have a shared political vision," while Moscow acts as a strategic partner at several levels, including diplomatic, military and economic, the prime minister added. The country intends to strengthen cooperation with Russia, including in the economic area, he said. Moreover, Tambela favored direct air service to be established between Moscow and Ouagadougou. In turn, Martynov expressed the Russian side’s wish to develop a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso.

"The meeting was very fruitful and successful. We are in tune regarding our approaches to bilateral cooperation. We also dwelled on intensifying our cooperation in all areas," the diplomat was quoted as saying.

In June 2023, the government of Burkina Faso signed a memorandum on cooperation with BRICS. In particular, the sides agreed on interaction in economy, healthcare, education and other fields. Olivia Rouamba, who was Foreign Minister at that time, expressed confidence that the partnership would be implemented on the basis of the principles of mutual benefit and mutual respect.

Since its inception in 2006, BRICS has experienced two phases of expansion. In 2011, South Africa joined the original group, which included Brazil, Russia, India, and China. On January 1, 2024, five new members officially entered BRICS, namely Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that 34 countries had expressed their wish to work with BRICS. Russia assumed the one-year rotating chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2024. The BRICS summit will be held in Kazan, Tatarstan, in Russia’s Volga region, on October 22-24.