The group of five emerging economies known as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) needs to cooperate more, according to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Ryabkov, who serves as Russia’s BRICS sherpa, said: “As for expansion plans, I think we need to continue pursuing the current path, first and foremost, seeking to boost practical cooperation, increase gains from it and specifying activities in many areas, so that our countries and our people can feel… that BRICS’ existence is important in terms of creating new positive elements in the economic, social and scientific development of our countries, as well as for other areas of development.”
“This is why it is possible to talk about the expansion of BRICS as a goal for the future,” he pointed out.
According to Ryabkov, Russia is currently focused on activities on the BRICS+ platform, which “makes it possible for interested countries to find ways to cooperate with the group’s members.”
The group, originally called BRIC, was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, before South Africa joined in 2010, adding the ‘S’ to the acronym. The group of five countries represents more than 40 percent of the world’s population.
In line with efforts to boost trade, members are working on the integration of payment systems, increasing transactions in national currencies, and establishing an independent channel for information exchange. It was earlier reported that BRICS states are set to create a new joint payment system called BRICS Pay, that will be similar to existing Apple Pay and Samsung Pay services.
