KAZAN, October 22. /TASS/. Collaboration with the BRICS grouping, whose members are seeking to establish a just world order, will help countries in the Global South protect their national interests in the international arena, according to Oleg Karpovich, Vice-Rector for scientific work of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"All participants in the BRICS Summit in Kazan, running from October 22-24, will be united by common goals in the economic, financial, cultural, educational, and other spheres. As they expand cooperation with BRICS across the board, countries of the Global South get a good opportunity to act in the international arena in line with their national interests, as no external pressure, similar to that often exerted by the West, is being put on them," the expert told TASS.
According to Karpovich, delegations from the Global South and East who have arrived in Russia also share common approaches to setting up an extended BRICS platform that "will enable each member country to pursue sovereign development based on their own principles," he underscored.
Moreover, holding a large-scale BRICS meeting in Kazan, which brings together a large number of delegations from the global majority, may give an impetus to building "a new system of international relations." This new system will be based on a balance of interests and respect for all participants in the international communication process, fully in line with new visions and trends that dominate today's world, Karpovich concluded.
The 16th BRICS summit, which is the key event of Russia’s chairmanship in the association, is being held in Kazan on October 22-24. 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. The Kazan summit will be the first to be attended by the new members of the association. Representatives of over 30 countries are expected to take part. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have already arrived in Kazan.