On February 21, the first meeting of the BRICS Business Council was held under the Brazilian chairmanship. The meeting via videoconference was moderated by the Chairman of the BRICS Business Council in 2025 Francisco Gomes Neto. In his opening remarks, he noted the ongoing expansion of BRICS and named the theme of the Brazilian chairmanship: "Business cooperation for an inclusive and sustainable future."
In 2024, the work of the BRICS Business Council was held under the chairmanship of the Russian Federation. Summing up its results, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, head of the Russian part of the BRICS Business Council Sergey Katyrin reported on the significant contribution of the Council members to the development of initiatives in the most important areas of cooperation.
"A significant part of the recommendations of the Business Council on further deepening market integration and business cooperation in the association were reflected in the final documents adopted by the leaders of our countries at the BRICS summit in Kazan," Sergey Katyrin emphasized.
He expressed confidence that under the Brazilian presidency, the work of the Business Council will continue on all key topics, including strengthening transport and logistics interconnectivity, creating a sustainable financial system, improving information and food security, cooperating in sustainable development, and ensuring the technological sovereignty of the BRICS countries.
As Sergey Katyrin noted, last year the Russian side managed to hold the international competition of best practices "BRICS Solution Awards" at a high level. Its organizers received more than 1,300 applications from all BRICS member states. The winners were awarded in Moscow at the Business Forum of the association.
"We believe that this interesting and popular practice should be continued in the future. In this regard, we express our readiness, if necessary, to provide all possible assistance to our Brazilian colleagues in holding the competition this year, taking into account the developments that we have," the head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry concluded.
Sergey Katyrin thanked the organizers for the invitation to the BRICS Business Forum in Brazil and, in turn, invited the meeting participants to the thematic session of the Russian part of the BRICS Business Council at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 18–21, 2025. The session will discuss the prospects for strengthening the BRICS business partnership in a new format.
During the meeting on February 21, the heads of the working groups of the Brazilian part of the BRICS Business Council made presentations, sharing their work plans with the participants and outlining the main priorities of their activities this year. The chairmen of the national parts of the BRICS Business Council also made comments and proposals.
In the final part, Francisco Gomes Neto announced the dates of the BRICS summit in 2025: it will be held on July 6 and 7 in Rio de Janeiro. On the eve of the meeting of the leaders of the association, the key events of the BRICS Business Council will take place - the final meeting and the Business Forum.
By Daniil Bordyugov,
Press Service of the Chamber
