Address by H.E. Ambassador Victor I. Sibilev at Friendly Meeting of BRICS Countries’ Ambassadors December 5, 2017

Dear colleagues,

I am glad to welcome you today at our traditional BRICS friendly meeting. For the third year on end, just before Christmas, we all meet each other in our capacity as BRICS countries’ ambassadors to Botswana in the company of our friends. Today I would like to appreciate the presence of several Ambassadors from non-BRICS African countries, who we invited to share this event with us. This so to say “expanded format” reflects what is happening at BRICS summits and other high profile activities. A lot of is being said now about the “BRICS Plus” approach promoted by the People’s Republic of China currently presiding in BRICS.

Back in 2016, India invited leaders of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) to attend the BRICS summit in Goa. One year later, the Xiamen summit was graced with presence of leaders of Guinea, Egypt, Tajikistan, Mexico and Thailand. The Russian Federation fully supports this practice of outreach and welcomes the diversity of formats through which BRICS can cooperate with its partners around the world.

Russia highly values the multifaceted cooperation that has developed within BRICS. The BRICS cooperation process was first launched in 2006. Ten years of hard efforts have resulted in ten years of progress. Over the past decade, BRICS cooperation has gone to greater depth and substance, yielding fruitful and laudable outcomes.

We advocate closer coordination of the BRICS countries’ foreign policies, primarily at the UN and G20, as well as other international organisations. It is clear that only the combined efforts of all countries can help bring about global stability and form a united anti-terrorist front with the central role of the UN.

All members of the association face the same task to form a fairer polycentric world order. Russia shares the BRICS countries’ concerns over the unfairness of the global financial and economic architecture, which does not give due regard to the growing weight of the emerging economies. It is necessary to use the WTO as a basis for the promotion of a transparent, equitable, mutually beneficial, multilateral trade system. BRICS countries also intend to work towards a more balanced distribution of quotas and voting shares within the IMF and the World Bank, and against protectionism and new barriers in global trade.

At the recent Summit, the leaders of the BRICS reaffirmed commitment to strengthen cooperation with Africa and help the continent to address illegal wildlife trade, promote employment, food security, infrastructure developmental initiatives and projects. The Xiamen Declaration reaffirms BRICS’ strong support for African Union’s implementation of its various programmes under Agenda 2063 in pursuit of peace and socio-economic development.

BRICS is committed to the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change of 2015.

What appeared as a club of like-minded countries in the financial and economic sphere, BRICS has evolved into a mature association with a comprehensive complex agenda. The outcomes of BRICS countries’ cooperation show that they are all indeed interested in its further enhancement in three key areas – politics and security, economy and finance, cultural and humanitarian exchanges along with institutionalization of strategic partnership.

Dear friends, I sincerely hope that in the next year we will see the cooperation between our countries broaden further for the benefit of our peoples and for peace and stability in the whole world!

Toast

Dear Fellow Ambassadors, your spouses and guest-diplomats,

I would like to propose a toast to the sound health of all present here and well-being of the BRICS Heads of State, fruitful cooperation of the member states and prosperity of our people and countries!