The event was opened by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. In her speech, she pointed to the inevitability of the world community's transition to a new system of world order.
"Structural restructuring of the world economy and its transfer to a new technological basis, including the introduction of artificial intelligence, communication, energy biological technologies, nanotechnology, the growth of national self-awareness, cultural and civilizational diversity and other objective factors accelerate the processes of redistribution of development potential in favor of new centers of economic growth," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the development of international ties was a priority for Russia.
"Russia will continue to develop as a friendly, open to the whole world country. It will pursue an independent, pragmatic, peace-loving foreign policy, promote the democratization of international life, its development on the principles of the UN Charter. Our current chairmanship of BRICS and the Commonwealth of Independent States, our active and constructive work in the EAEU, the SCO, the G20 and many other multilateral formats are aimed at achieving this goal. I will also note the close ties we are developing with regional integration associations," Lavrov said.
Chang Weiwei, a leading expert on international relations of the Communist Party of China, emphasized during his speech at the forum that the concept of a unipolar world is outdated.
"Unipolarity is immoral, unjust and irrelevant. This order will change with the strengthening of the international positions of China, Russia, and the expansion of BRICS to include countries of the Global South and Global East in the alliance," he said.
"Multipolarity is very important, it provides alternatives to the world. We in turn look forward to Senegal becoming part of BRICS. The sooner the alliance includes those countries that have applied to join, the better," said Oumy Sene, secretary general of the “Kalinka” Cultural Centre in Senegal.
The forum was also attended by mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Jeff Monson, who advocated greater co-operation among BRICS countries in the economic sphere.
"If the BRICS nations agreed on some kind of common currency, it would be an effective solution. This currency, be it the ruble or something else, could be used in joint trade," said mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Jeff Monson.
According to the organisers of the event, the platform is designed to unite intellectuals from different parts of the world who advocate a multipolar world order based on mutual respect. The international movement of Russophiles was created at the founding meeting on 14 March 2023 in Moscow. It stands for the promotion of Russian cultural and humanitarian presence in the modern world.
Source: TV BRICS