Senators take part in events at the 9th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
Today, it is clear that BRICS, with member states that represent several continents and with its invited friends, is making it possible to balance and harmonise the world order, which has been affected by the West’s pretensions to hegemony, Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev told the BRICS Parliamentary Forum in South Africa on 27–28 September.
The forum’s theme was Harnessing Multilateralism and Parliamentary Diplomacy to Deepen the BRICS and Africa Partnership for Accelerated Implementation of the Africa Free Trade Agreement.
Commenting on the outcome of the 15th BRICS Summit, Konstantin Kosachev said the addition of new members – Argentina, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia – would add fresh content to the agenda and strengthen the association’s status and its ability to influence global decision-making.
According to the Deputy Speaker, the summit’s participants repeatedly stressed that unilateral sanctions were unacceptable. They demonstrated their shared intention to promote the principles of openness, justice, and equality.
He said that the African Continental Free Trade Area, which was established in 2018, is an important tool in tapping Africa’s economic potential. It includes most of the African countries, given that 54 of them signed the agreement.
“Considering the ambitious aims involved in the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, it is no exaggeration to suggest that it will change the continent’s economic landscape,” he said.
“The countries of the Global South are acquiring increasingly more weight in world affairs and the key institutions of global governance,” Konstantin Kosachev declared.
According to the Deputy Speaker, Russia has always been an active and consistent advocate of strengthening close relations with African countries.
“This approach corresponds to the Russia-promoted concept of multipolar international relations and it involves obvious economic benefits. Today, in a situation characterised by the complex processes under way in the world economy, the use of illegitimate sanctions, and the Western countries’ exploitation of international financial mechanisms in their own interests, the BRICS-Africa partnership is acquiring great importance,” Konstantin Kosachev said.
“Acting as the chamber of regions, the Federation Council is pursuing system-wide work to bring Africa closer and make it more understandable for Russian citizens and businesspeople. We are consistently expanding the legal infrastructure for collaboration with the national parliaments of the African countries and we are providing fresh impetus to cooperation groups,” he said in conclusion.