The 16th BRICS summit was held in Russia's Kazan from October 22-24 and focused on strengthening multilateralism, integrating new members of the bloc and addressing regional challenges. The leaders adopted a joint declaration that underscored the need to further enhance BRICS solidarity and cooperation based on mutual interests and key priorities.
Speaking at the event, Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev touched on the role and influence of BRICS in the modern world and on the summit’s results.
"BRICS is an association of like-minded countries that promotes an independent sovereign policy. This association is based on political, economic, and civilizational diversity, which makes it strong. The diverse countries come from different regions and have different political systems and economic models, but they share a common view of the future and focus on practical cooperation in their activities," Nozdrev said.
The ambassador also noted that the BRICS summit in Kazan had attracted a lot of media and political attention, including from Japan. As a result, there were numerous requests from foreign diplomats and media representatives to hold a press conference to discuss the outcomes of the summit.
BRICS is an intergovernmental association created in 2006. Russia assumed the rotating presidency of the bloc on January 1, 2024. The year began with the accession of new members to the association. In addition to Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, it now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, according to the website of the Russian 2024 BRICS Chairmanship. Saudi Arabia has not reportedly formalized its participation but has been taking part in BRICS meetings.