Russia to take over presidency in BRICS Business Council on April 1

UFA, February 11. /TASS/. Russia will take over the presidency in the Business Council of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) on April 1, the participants of the Business Council session in Brazil announced on Wednesday. The summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS countries are scheduled to be held in Ufa, the capital of Russia’s Volga republic Bashkiria, on July 8-10, 2015. Bashkiria’s government told TASS that on June 18 as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum a separate congress event would be held to discuss the prospects of economic cooperation between BRICS countries. In July, Ufa plans to host a range of events in the framework of the Business Council that will conclude the traditional meeting of the leaders of the member-states with the Council participants. "Russia has introduced several interesting proposals, in particular from the Agency for Strategic Initiatives on implementing standards to reduce administrative barriers for businesses in BRICS countries," said the deputy chairman of the national part the SCO and BRICS Business Council, Azat Fazlyev. According to Fazlyev, the participants expect that the Russian presidency will encourage a dialogue on enhancing economic integration of the member-states and bringing the economic cooperation to a new level. The BRICS Business Council was established at the grouping’s summit in South Africa’s Durban in late March 2013. Its goal is to fulfill multilateral investment projects. BRICS is a grouping of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Read more