Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as a representative of the interests of the entire non-Western world. He highlighted that the cooperation within the association is characterized by equal dialogue, mutual consideration of each other's interests, and respect for the sovereignty of countries in choosing their own development paths. This statement was made during a meeting with representatives of the parliamentary committees on international affairs of the BRICS member countries.
"I can confidently say that BRICS today serves as a 'spokesperson' for the interests of the entire non-Western world," Lavrov noted.
He acknowledged the growing interest of more and more countries from the global South in the association as logical and natural. Lavrov suggested that the association does not aim to reverse historical trends, such as the emergence of a multipolar world, but rather seeks to facilitate and lead these processes. He emphasized that BRICS's cooperation is not driven by narrow self-interest but by the collective interests of all its members and those countries that wish to engage with BRICS.
Lavrov underscored that the foundation of BRICS cooperation is "equal dialogue, respect for each country's choice of its own path of development, consideration of each other's interests, and a focus on collectively addressing the challenges of our time."
Since its inception in 2006, BRICS has expanded twice. In 2011, South Africa joined the original membership, which included Brazil, Russia, India, and China. In August 2023, Argentina was invited to join, but it declined to do so by the end of December. Five new members—Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia—began full-fledged work with BRICS on January 1, 2024.
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Photo: brics-russia2020.ru/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS