Working Meeting Held for Chairs of Committees on International Affairs of BRICS Parliaments

A working meeting was held on 11 April for the chairs of the committees on international affairs of BRICS parliaments. The meeting was attended by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin (moderator of the session), First Deputy Chairs of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, Sergey Kislyak, and Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov, Chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, along with other distinguished BRICS guests.

The agenda of the meeting included the programme, and format of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which is scheduled for 11–12 July in St. Petersburg. The meeting participants exchanged views on the role of BRICS in world affairs and how to strengthen cooperation between parliamentary groups within the organization.

Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev welcomed the participants and spoke of the attention BRICS has been garnering on the world stage.

“The strength of unity lies in a common effort to find where the interests of our nations coincide. We are joining forces to make the world a fairer, safer, more prosperous place, where every nation enjoys equal opportunity to develop independently and promote their sovereign national interests within a more diverse world order,” he said.

Konstantin Kosachev expressed his belief in the contribution BRICS parliamentary work could make to these tasks.

Alexander Zhukov spoke about BRICS attracting support due to the organization’s underlying principles and expressed his belief that Russia would continue to promote partner cooperation within BRICS and that parliamentarians should play an active role in this work.

According to Grigory Karasin, the current geopolitical situation has radically shifted the global balance of power, primarily as a result of a growing confrontation between developed countries and the developing nations that are increasingly seeking to defend their interests.

“BRICS offers the world creative, unifying, forward-looking initiatives that seek collective answers to the global agenda’s most pressing issues. BRICS serves as a focal point for nations seeking to chart their own sovereign course in foreign policy,” he said and called on his colleagues to do everything possible to preserve their own traditions and harness the association’s experience of promoteling partner cooperation within BRICS in foreign policy, the economy, and the cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Grigory Karasin also drew attention to the various ways the annual BRICS Parliamentary Forum has managed to unify the efforts of legislators. The tenth forum will be organized with the participation of the heads of the parliaments of BRICS member states.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS Chairship.

Source: Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation