KAZAN, October 22. /TASS/. BRICS needs the "oil muscles" of Venezuela and Russia, President of the South American country Nicolas Maduro said as he arrived in Kazan for the BRICS summit.
"I have always thought about the way of our possible integration within a major economic project of development, cooperation, of OPEC member states and others as countries possessing the world’s largest oil reserves," he said when asked a respective question about the two countries’ "oil muscles."
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.