Ekaterinburg [Russia], November 29: The final meeting of BRICS Sherpas and Sous-Sherpas in Russia's Ekaterinburg is set to conclude on Friday, marking the official handover of the BRICS chairmanship from Russia to Brazil.
Sergey Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister and Sherpa to the group, summarised the results of Russia's BRICS chairmanship and also thanked his colleagues for their joint work, TV BRICS reported. highlighted the bloc's strengthened resilience and achievements during Russia's presidency, which spanned a year of significant developments
Ryabkov said that the BRICS member countries demonstrated significant progress in all areas of cooperation, including politics and security, economy and finance, and humanitarian ties in 2024. He added that Russia has held over 250 events and a number of other meetings are scheduled before the end of the year.
"Frankly speaking, for us this is both a moment of sadness and a moment of joy. Sadness, because we are approaching the end of our chairmanship, and although it is only November, tomorrow we will have the ceremony of handing over the chairmanship. But it is also a moment of joy, because we have achieved great results together this year," TV BRICS quoted him as saying.
Ryabkov highlighted the agreements on the establishment of the BRICS grain exchange, the contact group on climate and sustainable development, the establishment of a geological, technological and investment platform, as well as the creation of a working group on nuclear medicine, as major results of the Russian presidency.
The Deputy Minister also expressed confidence that the achievements of the current year will become a solid foundation for future interaction between the BRICS countries and will allow Brazil to further build on these successes in its chairmanship.
The XVI BRICS Summit, held in Kazan from October 22 to 24, was the cornerstone of Russia's presidency. The summit resulted in the adoption of the Kazan Declaration and saw the member states finalise the list of BRICS partner countries.
In addition to the core members--Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa--the group welcomed Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia as full members in 2024.
Earlier, Belarus, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand also joined as BRICS partners, TV BRICS reported.
Source: Times of Oman