First Deputy FM held briefing for foreign diplomats themed Promotion of the Republic of Belarus in BRICS
On September 9th, Belarus’ First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Lukashevich held a briefing – Promotion of the Republic of Belarus in BRICS – for diplomats of the BRICS member states accredited in Belarus., sb.by reports with reference to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s press service
The event was attended by representatives of Russia, China, India, Brazil, Iran and the UAE. Diplomats of the Egyptian and Ethiopian embassies with residence in Moscow (Russia) also joined the briefing via video link.
“The starting point of our country’s movement towards BRICS was the message of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, (on May 16th, 2023) to the heads of the member countries of the association with an application for accession,” the Belarusian diplomat said in his speech. “This step enabled Belarus to enter the first ‘pool’ of candidate states (together with Algeria, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Bolivia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal and Thailand).”
According to Sergei Lukashevich, Belarus has repeatedly demonstrated the seriousness of its intentions towards BRICS by actively participating in the association’s thematic events at various levels.
Urging the briefing participants to vote in favour of including Belarus in the priority list of partners, the Belarusian diplomat gave a really weighty argument in favour of our country: Belarus is the only candidate from the European region.
“We support the BRICS’ intentions to conduct a broad dialogue with interested countries in order to create a field for enhancing co-operation across many areas, ranging from agriculture to ensure global food security and ending with high-tech developments,” Sergei Lukashevich underlined.
All those participating in the briefing were informed about the work done by the Belarusian side on joining the BRICS.
Concluding his speech, Belarus’ First Deputy Foreign Minister expressed hope that ‘the decisions of the upcoming summit in Kazan will enable the Republic of Belarus to gain a new status in the association’.
In turn, the foreign diplomats who took part in the event shared their views on the prospects of Belarus joining this organisation in the near future.
