The United Arab Emirates is seeking to expand cooperation with the BRICS countries, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2023) The United Arab Emirates is seeking to expand cooperation with the BRICS countries, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Al Nahyan attended the "Friends of BRICS" meeting in the South African city of Cape Town.
"The UAE is pleased to be a friend to the BRICS group and is committed to expanding and deepening its cooperation with the group, its member states and its partners in driving development and prosperity," Al Nahyan was quoted as saying by the country's foreign ministry, adding that economies of the BRICS member states account for "25 percent of the global GDP."
In addition, the UAE foreign minister held on the sidelines of the meeting a bilateral conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
"The two top diplomats discussed ways of strengthening relations of friendship and strategic partnership between the UAE and the Russian Federation. They also reviewed an array of latest regional and international developments and exchanged views on them," the ministry said in a statement.
Relations between the UAE and Russia are based on "solid foundations of mutual understanding and respect as well as on constructive cooperation," the statement noted, adding that the cooperation between the two countries "has been witnessing rapid growth, particularly following the signing of the strategic partnership agreement in 2018."
BRICS unites the world's largest developing economies � Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. A number of other countries intend to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. South Africa, which assumed the rotating BRICS presidency in January, will host the 15th BRICS summit in August.
