Some good news from BRICS (out of Russia)

While we wait in vain for any substantive news out of BRICS Brazil, Russia is continuing.

Maria Zakharova spoke at the II BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum at the Russia National Center

The National Center is hosting the 2nd BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum. At the panel session “BRICS and International Institutions: Joining Efforts as a Guarantee of a Sustainable Future,” the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova , spoke:

We are at a turning point in history, characterized by a movement from a unipolar world to a polyphonic world order. We will not dwell on how the West gained dominance, this is a special topic. Here, representatives of the world majority: Africa, Asia, Latin America – all know perfectly well that the West built its dominance on their shoulders. But drawing a line under this dominance, we state that it is ending. Although, of course, they do not want this.

More than 1,100 delegates from 56 countries are taking part in the forum. The key topic of the forum is the development of regional cooperation between BRICS and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the CIS.

And we had Mr.Lavrov too!

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address (https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/2017645/) to participants of a grand ceremony for opening the 2nd BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum (May 15, 2025)

💬 Ladies and gentlemen,

Colleagues,

Friends,

Welcome to the grand opening ceremony marking the beginning of the 2nd BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum.

Without a doubt, today’s event represents a milestone for the BRICS countries’ business communities and our entire association, which increasingly plays a big part in global affairs.

We view BRICS as a focal point for coordinating interests of the World Majority’s leading countries, a key pillar of a multipolar world, and an important mechanism for advancing genuinely multilateral cooperation. I would like to emphasise that our joint work within the association is based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and balance of interests of all participants.

The potential of BRICS has benefitted greatly from expansion. The BRICS countries represent nearly half of the world’s population, and their aggregate GDP makes up about 40 percent of global GDP in terms of purchasing power parity, more than that of the G7.

Considering this, it stands to reason that BRICS continues to attract the Global South and Global East countries that seek mutually beneficial partnerships and joint development.

Expanding comprehensive cooperation within the BRICS format is among our unconditional foreign policy priorities. We place special emphasis on supporting new ideas and pro-active approaches in the economy, ensuring financial stability, advancing digitalisation, and enhancing transport connectivity.

Women’s entrepreneurship is a key factor in achieving progress in these and other areas. Your determination, innovation-based approaches, and leadership create new prospects and open new horizons for expanding our respective economies and social spheres.

Today’s forum provides an excellent opportunity to exchange best practices, to establish and strengthen business contacts, and to coordinate specific practical cooperation projects.

The initiatives to be developed during the forum will be taken into account in preparations for the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7 and contribute to the collective efforts of our association.

I wish you engaging interactions, substantive discussions, and all the best. I am confident that, acting together, we can make our BRICS partnership even more effective.