On October 22-24, the city of Kazan hosted the XVI BRICS Summit, marking the conclusion of Russia’s 2024 BRICS Presidency. 35 foreign delegations attended the event (23 delegations presided over by heads of state, and 12 – by senior officials), making the Summit a significant international event.

With no permanent supranational and executive institutions to support its decision-making process, BRICS uses a rotating presidency for the BRICS Chair to define the Group’s agenda for a one-year term, which is implemented by the member states’ national authorities. Therefore, this year, Russia got an opportunity to shape the BRICS agenda and prioritize certain tracks in a manner that aligned with the country’s interests and addressed geopolitical and economic challenges.

In terms of priority tracks, several areas have been in the spotlight of the Russia’s 2024 BRICS Presidency:

• Integrating newly-joined member states and establishing a new category for a BRICS partner state to foster the Group’s institutional framework and preserve the integrity of the BRICS agenda.
• Promoting cooperation on cross-border payment systems and interbank collaboration, as well as expanding the use of national currencies in mutual trade.
• Establishing an intra-BRICS common settlement and depositary infrastructure.
• Transitioning to a low-carbon economy among BRICS nations.
• Enhancing agricultural collaboration to boost mutual trade and ensure food security.

For more implications for the BRICS 2024 Summit, see our memo below.