Sergey Lavrov: Russia will invite BRICS+ partners to summit in Kazan

The Russian side will invite not only BRICS members, but also partners in the BRICS+ format when preparing the summit in Kazan, which will be held this autumn, as reported by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"A decision to introduce a new category of ‘partner country’ is being prepared in parallel for the summit. There are about thirty countries in the queue. The association has really gained a global dimension not only in its agenda and geography (almost all major regions are represented), but also in the number of countries"

Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister

He noted that regionalisation of the world development is taking place now. This process fits harmoniously with the position that BRICS (which Russia is chairing this year) promotes at the global level.

Since its founding in 2006, BRICS has undergone two waves of expansion. In 2011, South Africa joined the original membership of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and in August 2023, six new members – Argentina, Egypt, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE – were invited to join. Argentina subsequently declined to join the alliance, while the five remaining countries became part of the alliance from 1 January 2024.

The BRICS chairmanship was taken over by Russia from January, it will last until the end of this year and includes more than 200 events. The main event will be the summit of the BRICS heads of state in October 2024 in Kazan.