The head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry called finance and digitalization the key topics of the BRICS

Finance, transport and logistics connectivity, human resources, artificial intelligence and digitalization remain the main topics on the BRICS agenda. Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Izvestia on June 19.

"The main issues that we promoted last year during our presidency, some of them remain on the agenda," he said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).

Katyrin added that with the increase in the number of member countries and partners of the association, the range of topics discussed is also expanding.

"Discussions are not easy now, we have nine working groups. Everywhere it is necessary to make [decisions] by consensus," he stressed.

According to the head of the CCI, there are disputes and discussions in each group throughout the year.

"There are no disagreements, there is an understanding that someone believes that these issues should be resolved first and these second. Others, on the contrary, believe that the main thing now is finance, transport, and so on. But, in principle, we are working, everything is fine," Katyrin assured.

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Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said during the plenary session "The Role of SMEs in achieving new National Goals" at SPIEF 2025 on June 18 that the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector is showing the best adaptation to new challenges and uncertainties. Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov confirmed the importance of digitalization of the sector and training entrepreneurs in modern practices.