Ivan Zubov
As Novye Izvestia has already reported, at the BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which was chaired by China, the Beijing Declaration was adopted via videoconference.
According to this document, the BRICS countries are committed to maintaining the central role of the United Nations in the international system. At the same time, the association confirms its readiness to “breathe new life into the discussions on the reform of the UN Security Council” in order to increase its representativeness.
In addition, countries are calling for changes in the work of the World Trade Organization. The priority task was to initiate the selection of members of the Appellate Body for the restoration of a two-tier multilateral dispute resolution mechanism.
The BRICS countries also called on members of the organization to "avoid unilateral and protectionist measures that are contrary to the spirit and rules of the WTO."
The situation in Ukraine was also discussed at the BRICS summit. “We remind you of the positions of our countries, voiced at specialized venues, namely in the UN Security Council and at the UN General Assembly. We support negotiations between Russia and Ukraine,” the declaration says.
The leaders of the BRICS countries supported further cooperation in the fight against terrorism and corruption, in the field of trade, healthcare, customs control, tourism, culture and sports.
In addition, it became known that BRICS could expand its ranks, Iran and Argentina also intend to join this organization. According to the Iranian agency Tasnim, this country has already applied for joining the BRICS. This was stated at a press conference on Monday by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez also announced his country's desire to join the group. “We strive to be full members of this group of nations We are a safe and responsible food supplier and a recognized player in the field of biotechnology and applied logistics”, - reports the Argentine news agency Telam.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova also confirmed that these countries have applied to join this organization. In her channel, she wrote:
“While the White House was thinking about what else in the world would be turned off, banned and spoiled, Argentina and Iran applied to join the BRICS”.
It is known that the share of the BRICS countries in the global GDP is 30%, and the total population of the states included in the group is 40% of the world's population.
Assistant to the Russian President Yuri Ushakov said that Russia is positive about the possible expansion of the BRICS, but "this problem must be approached very carefully, carefully". Moscow proposes to define procedures and requirements for accession candidates, he added.