“Russia attaches great importance to the development of interaction between Russia and the BRICS countries. This is a priority of our foreign policy,” Ulyukayev said during a BRICS economic ministerial meeting in Moscow ahead of the BRICS summit in Ufa.
Ulyukayev said that close economic partnership among the BRICS members has led to the launching of ambitious initiatives and new plans in their agendas.
"We have already gained important experience on working on such initiatives as joint trade, a trade study initiated by South Africa, the framework of BRICS close economic partnerships and the BRICS trade and investment facilitation plan prepared by China," he added.
The Russian official added that the strategy introduced entirely new areas of cooperation such as physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity.
BRICS is an association of five major developing economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Finance ministers and heads of the central banks of BRICS countries are gathering in Moscow on Tuesday ahead of the seventh BRICS summit, due to take place in the Russian city of Ufa on July 8-9. BRICS ministers of economic development and trade are set to meet in the Russian capital on Tuesday.
