"The world has changed dramatically. The upcoming 2024 US presidential election will not be the most important event of the year for the world community and will not decide the next historical process. The BRICS Summit will be that event," TASS quoted the President of the Russian Federation Council (the Russian Parliament) Valentina Matviyenko as saying on Telegram.
This reflects objective and irreversible processes, Matviyenko said. "I believe that in 2024, the direction of human development will be established in Kazan. The three days of the BRICS summit and the talks of the leaders of the majority of the world in Kazan will have a decisive impact on our future," Matviyenko noted.
The Chairman of the Russian Federation Council believes that the truly responsible leaders of sovereign states understand this. The level of representation at the summit and the growing number of applications are clear evidence of that.
"I am sure that news from Russia will be followed across all continents," Matviyenko concluded.
BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. On 1 January 2024, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia became official members of the group. Saudi Arabia is in the process of considering joining.
On January 1, 2024, Russia will take over the one-year presidency of BRICS. The group has more than 200 different events. The BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24 will be the main BRICS event during Russia's presidency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that about 30 countries have expressed interest in cooperating with BRICS in some form. Mr. Putin also emphasized that BRICS is not an "anti-Western" organization.
Speaking to reporters from BRICS countries on October 18, President Putin noted that BRICS now includes about 45% of the world's population, while its trade revenue and market share in the global economy are still growing steadily.
" BRICS is expanding. The number of friends and like-minded people in BRICS has increased and interest in the bloc's activities is very high," Putin said, adding that "to date, about 30 countries have expressed a desire to cooperate with BRICS to some extent, to participate in the group's activities in one way or another".
The Russian president stressed that the nature of BRICS makes the group beneficial globally, not just for participants.
We are not building a bloc that is against someones interests. This is not such an organization. In this sense, BRICS is universal and, in my opinion, will have a beneficial impact on world issues in general, including the world economy, Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also rejected claims that BRICS is in some ways against the West.
