UAE, Saudi, Iran, Egypt, Turkey FMs attend Russia’s BRICS meeting

Russia and China are seeking to enhance ties with Iran and Arab states at the BRICS foreign ministers meeting this week in Moscow, following the admission of the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Egypt to the bloc earlier this year.

What happened: The meeting is taking place on Monday and Tuesday in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod. Representatives from 22 countries are attending. On Monday, delegations from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Brazil, China, India and South Africa, in addition to Russia, will participate in sessions. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam are expected to attend events on Tuesday, Russia’s official Tass news agency reported.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2006. The founders were later joined by South Africa in 2010. The group functions as a geopolitical bloc to counter Western influence and seeks to promote cooperation between its members. 

The foreign ministers meeting is the first of its kind since BRICS expanded in January, adding the UAE, Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia as full members. Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering an offer to join.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Nizhny Novgorod on Monday and met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

🇷🇺🇸🇦 Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud hold a meeting on the sidelines of the #BRICS Ministerial

📍 Nizhny Novgorod, June 10 pic.twitter.com/elujqtr3zG

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) June 10, 2024

Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Monday to discuss political and economic cooperation between the two countries, as well as international issues including the Gaza war. Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency described Wang as saying “Beijing adheres to the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Bagheri Kani additionally thanked China for its position at the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting last week. At the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the United States and European states voted to censure Iran for allegedly not complying with inspectors. China and Russia voted against the resolution.

Following the meeting with Wang, Bagheri Kani met Igor Levitin, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to discuss enhancing Iran-Russia relations, the agency reported. Bagheri Kani met with Lavrov as well, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

Lavrov and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan in a meeting on Monday. The Egyptian state-owned news outlet Al-Ahram reported following the meeting that Shoukry “welcomed” a Russian proposal to host Arab foreign ministers for a discussion on ways to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

📍Nizhny Novgorod
FM Shoukry meets with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov during #BRICS Ministerial. Discussions focused on:
✔️War on #Gaza & 🇪🇬🇶🇦 mediation efforts
✔️Advancing relations between 🇪🇬🇷🇺
✔️Priorities of #BRICS Countries 
✔️Develolments in 🇺🇦&🇸🇩@mfa_russia pic.twitter.com/Jabe6kzchR

— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) June 10, 2024

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will the BRICS and hold meetings on the sideline on Tuesday. On Monday, Fidan met Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Sergei Shoigu in Moscow to discuss developments in Gaza, Syria and the southern Caucasus. Fidan also attended a Russian-Turkish Businessmen Association meeting, Ezgi Akin reported for Al-Monitor.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan participated in Monday’s meeting and expressed a desire to better integrate into the group.

“We are presented with an important opportunity to enhance our economic integration within BRICS, and to develop strategic initiatives in various fields, most notably in tourism, energy, industry, transport, education, and blue economy,” he said in the statement,

In a joint statement released on Monday, the BRICS meeting participants called for the following:

• Greater cooperation between BRICS members on energy, climate change, food security and other issues.
• “Comprehensive reform” of the United Nations Security Council to make it “more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries.”
• The “enhanced use of local currencies in trade and financial transactions between the BRICS countries.”

Earlier, Lavrov said that work has begun on a platform for BRICS countries to conduct trade in their own currencies instead of the US dollar, Tass reported.

Why it matters: The Gaza war discussions at the BRICS meeting come amid intensified US efforts to achieve a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Egypt on Monday to this end.

Russia’s proposal to hold a meeting with Arab states on the Gaza wars follows Moscow’s efforts to mediate between rival Palestinian factions. In March, Russia hosted Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions for unity talks.

China is similarly pursuing a more active role and will host another round of Palestinian reconciliation talks later this week, following discussions in April.

BRICS members declaring their desire to trade in national currencies is not new. Iran and Russia, both subject to Western sanctions, have repeatedly said they are working to remove the US dollar from bilateral trade.

China’s declaration of support for Iran’s territorial integrity could relate to the dispute with the UAE over the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa islands. Last week, Iran publicly criticized China for declaring its support for the Emirati position on the islands, which are administered by the Islamic Republic but claimed by the UAE. China did not back down in response, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning telling reporters the People’s Republic has been “consistent” on the issue.

What’s next: On Tuesday, Egypt’s New Administrative Capital will host a two-day forum for BRICS’ New Development Bank, the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation said in a statement.

The purpose of the bank is to promote financing for developing countries.