Lavrov to Attend BRICS Summit in Rio De Janeiro on July 6-7 - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, July 2 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro from July 6-7, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti. 

"On the sixth or seventh of July, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry will take part in the 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil... During the meetings, the results of the association's work since the beginning of the year in three main areas of cooperation will be reviewed," Zakharova told a briefing.

Lavrov will also attend the regular meetings of the heads of foreign ministries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the formats of Russia-ASEAN, the East Asian Summit and the ASEAN Regional Security Forum from July10-11 in Kuala Lumpur, Zakharova also said.

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"A difficult discussion is expected on the main pain points of today's geopolitics. For our part, we intend to focus on the growing risks associated with the militarisation of the Asia-Pacific region, the expansion of the network of so-called Pacific bloc mechanisms, attempts by Euro-Atlanticists to consolidate NATO's power potential in Asia, undermine the existing ASEAN security architecture, and focus all practical work on alternative formats that serve the Western agenda," Zakharova said.

During the Russian-ASEAN ministerial meeting, Moscow expects a substantive dialogue on a wide range of issues of cooperation with the association in the field of politics and security, trade, economy, as well as in social and cultural spheres, the spokeswoman said.

"For their part, we will also confirm the central role of ASEAN in ensuring stability and inclusive cooperation in the region. In the substantive plan, we will focus on the preparation of new joint work programmes for the period from 2026 to 2030. The main focus will be on the development of high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors, smart cities, cooperation in the fields of digitalisation, energy and other promising areas," Zakharova added.

From July 14-15, Lavrov will also attend a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states on July 14-15 in China's Tianjin, Zakharova also said, adding that the meeting will be critical for the preparation of the upcoming SCO summit.

Meanwhile in Beijing, it was announced that Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Brazil from July 5-8 to attend the 17th BRICS summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

"Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 17th BRICS Summit upon invitation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 5 to 8," Mao told a briefing.

The summit will be attended by officials from various emerging economies, international and regional organisations. China is looking forward to working together with these countries and organisations to strengthen the strategic partnership within BRICS, Mao added.

In late June, the South China Morning Post reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Chinese President Xi Jinping would not take part in the BRICS summit because he had already met twice with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in less than a year.

BRICS is an intergovernmental association created in 2006. In addition to Russia, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, it now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, Nigeria and Uzbekistan officially became BRICS partner states in January 2025.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI