BRICS has entered the second stage of expansion and has every opportunity for this, including through the establishment of a category of partner countries, Deputy Foreign Minister and Russia’s BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov said.

“We have now entered, I believe, the second stage of expansion. I will not speculate here about when, who, and in what capacity will have further rapprochement with BRICS.
Opportunities exist for this, including through the creation of a category of partner states. BRICS already has quite a few of these — countries that have recently achieved this status,” he said in an interview published on the PIR Center website.

According to the senior Russian diplomat, it was among the priorities of Russia’s presidency in the association last year to ensure a smooth integration of the newcomers, or countries that joined the organization after January 1, 2024, into the BRICS architecture. “All BRICS members acknowledge that we have accomplished this task quite effectively,” he stated.