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President Vladimir Putin Address on Russia Assuming BRICS Chairmanship
3 January 2024
EIRNS—On Jan. 1, Russia assumed the leadership of the BRICS for the year 2024 as five new members were added as official members: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Russian President Vladimir Putin made brief comments commemorating the occasion. “BRICS is attracting an ever increasing number of supporters and like-minded countries that share its underlying principles, namely, sovereign equality, respect for the chosen path of development, mutual consideration of interests, openness, consensus, the aspiration to form a multipolar international order and a fair global financial and trade system, and pursuit of collective solutions to top challenges of our time,” Putin said. He also noted that there are over 30 countries waiting to become members of BRICS from, and hence a new category for member nation is being worked on: “Of course, we will consider the degree to which many other countries, about 30 of them, are prepared to join the BRICS multidimensional agenda in one form or another. To this end, we will start working on the modalities of a new category of BRICS partner country.” Putin said that Russia’s focus during its chairmanship will be in three main areas: politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contacts. He said it would include “enhancing foreign policy coordination” and on solutions to regional and international security. In the economic sphere, he said they will focus on “enhancing the role of BRICS in the international monetary system, expanding interbank cooperation and expanding the use of national currencies in mutual trade.” [slb] |