A two-day meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov begins in Nizhny Novgorod. In addition to the "ten" states, the meeting will be attended by representatives of countries - friends of BRICS.

"During the upcoming meetings, the parties plan to discuss current issues of international relations, international agenda, improvement of the global governance system with emphasis on strengthening the role of developing countries, conflict resolution, and interaction in leading multilateral platforms," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Within the framework of the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, a separate meeting will also be held with the participation of a number of countries of the Global South and East.

This is the first meeting of foreign ministers since the expansion of BRICS in 2023. Now full members of the association include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia. Around 30 more countries want to cooperate with BRICS in various formats.