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Lavrov Reveals BRICS Looking Into 30 Cooperation Requests From Various Countries

12:55, 7 June 2024

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Pawan Atri

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Russia is currently chairing the BRICS presidency, and much attention is being placed on expanding its geographical reach. More than 40 countries have already shown interest in joining this influential and powerful economic bloc.

Sputnik

BRICS is reviewing nearly 30 requests from countries throughout the world that have put forward proposals to formalise different forms of cooperation with the nine-member economic group, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

"BRICS is currently considering roughly 30 applications from various countries, large, small, and mid-sized, which propose establishing various forms of cooperation," Lavrov told Channel One Russia TV.

Furthermore, BRICS has plans to introduce a segment of "partner countries," Lavrov noted.

The comments by Russia's top diplomat came hours after a recent study presented at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) found that at least 61% of Russian companies have partners in BRICS nations.

The report shows that 80% of companies with at least 3,000 employees in BRICS group have formed partnerships with Russian firms.

Besides, 52% of the companies based in Russia were exporting items to BRICS nations while 57% were importing goods from partner nations.

Among the sectors that have witnessed extensive cooperation are automobile manufacturing and industrial production, consumer durables, the biomedical industry, and agribusiness, with each one recording over 50% partnerships within BRICS countries.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of BRICS member states are scheduled to meet Nizhny Novgorod on June 10-11 where they will hold discussions on issues such as global governance, and conflict resolution among others, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed this during a media briefing held on the sidelines of SPIEF.

"One of the most important events planned for the coming weeks is, of course, the meeting of the BRICS foreign ministers in Nizhny Novgorod. It will be held from June 10 to 11 under Russia's chairmanship of the association, and a separate meeting will be held with a number of countries from the Global South and East. During the upcoming meetings, plans are in store to discuss key issues regarding international relations, the international agenda, and enhancing the system of global governance with an emphasis on boosting the role of developing countries, [along with] conflict resolution, and interaction on leading multilateral platforms," she stated.

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