Ryabkov assessed the contribution of the Russian presidency to strengthening BRICS on the way to multipolarity

The Russian BRICS chairmanship has contributed to strengthening the association as an element of the multipolar world system. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said this on November 28 in response to Izvestia's question on the 5th meeting of the BRICS sherpas/sous-sherpas, which was the final one of the Russian presidency.

"It is probably no exaggeration to say that the Russian presidency of this year has become a major, significant contribution to strengthening BRICS as an element of the nascent architecture of the multipolar world. We have made significant progress in all areas that we prioritized for this year," Ryabkov, who is Russia's BRICS Sherpa, said.

He pointed out that the association has made a breakthrough by creating a category of partner states. It managed to ensure smooth entry of new BRICS members into the branched architecture of cooperation, and the old members worked together on this. Ryabkov emphasized that compared to January 1 of this year, the BRICS membership has become twice as wide.

The Deputy Foreign Minister also noted that within the framework of Russia's chairmanship in the association, a solid foundation has been laid for the creation of systems in the areas of banking and finance, and these structures will become alternatives to the instruments currently dominated by the West. Russia is doing its best and taking the initiative to ensure that BRICS has working systems in the financial sphere.

In addition, as the deputy foreign minister pointed out, under the Russian chairmanship the association has received a good expansion of forward-looking activities in all sectors, from energy and artificial intelligence to sports and youth contacts, and other BRICS participants also note this contribution of the Russian Federation.

Ryabkov added that Brazil is taking an extremely responsible approach to its future presidency and is going to orient BRICS toward the most advanced and important areas of the economy and social life. Thanks to this, the association is "on the cutting edge" of discussions of topical issues. The Deputy Foreign Minister pointed out that during Brazil's presidency, the BRICS work will be largely based on the approaches and formulations laid down in the declaration signed at the end of the Kazan summit.

The BRICS summit in Kazan was held from October 22 to 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the last day of the event that it was a success, and the Russian Federation as the chairman during 2024 approached its role responsibly, organizing more than 200 events in 13 cities of the Russian Federation. These included various ministerial meetings, a business forum and sports games. The head of state added that the new BRICS members joined the association quickly and organically, feeling that the countries in it respect each other and mutually consider each other's interests.

On the same day, Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that BRICS is one of the driving forces of global progress. Later, on November 7, Astana was invited to join the association as a partner.

BRICS is an interstate association of countries. The last summit at the level of heads of state was held in Johannesburg in August 2023. Following its results, the BRICS members decided on a historic expansion. On January 1, 2024, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were joined by Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE.