Intra-BRICS trade is booming, driven by the expanded BRICS+ bloc (now including energy-rich nations like Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia) and a strong push for de-dollarization, boosting local currency settlements and new payment systems like CIPS. Key themes include diversifying supply chains, enhancing South-South cooperation, developing local payment systems (NDB, CIPS), and fostering tech/industrial integration to reduce reliance on Western markets, with total intra-bloc trade already exceeding US$1 trillion and growing significantly. Navigate the BRICS business framework. Find news on economic cooperation, the New Development Bank, and joint investment projects. Essential for businesses leveraging the powerful BRICS economic bloc.
Russia and Egypt have agreed on the operational and management partner for the Russian Investment Zone at Port Said. Russia’s Crystal Fund will provide incentives for Russian manufacturers to establish operations in the zone, with the zone itself also tax and other benefits.
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abey Ahmed in Addis Ababa to discuss developing bilateral trade and investment. This tripled in 2025 with plenty of interest in their mutual agricultural sectors – fertilizers, grains, and coffee.
The Russian and Indonesian Ministries of Trade & Industry have signed a Cooperation Agreement in the industrial sector, with Russia expressing interest in Indonesian shipping, aviation, and infrastructure including construction of the new capital city at Nusantara.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov has met with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the African Union chair, in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Russia is pro-African development and wants to see it gain seats on the UN Security Council.
The Iraq Ambassador to Russia, Dr. Abdul-Karim Hashim Mostafa has said it would be a ‘good idea’ for Iraq to join the BRICS, depending on the terms. Such a move would almost certainly face US opposition.
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Russia needs to better secure its arbitration reach by both developing Bilateral Investment Treaties with Global South nations, and / or establishing a BRICS arbitration centre. We can expect a flurry of BIT agreements being signed in the coming months.
Russia’s Roscosmos with working with the Indian Space Research Organization on multiple space projects, including the BRICS Space Council as well as assistance with India’s planned Bharatiya Antariksh Space Station, planned for deployment in 2028.
Is multiculturalism dead – or just moving away from the West to the Global South? The joint Russia-India film ‘Persimmon of my Love’ has been playing to rave reviews on a national release in Russia, while co-BRICS film productions are also underway between Russia and Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran and Indonesia amongst others.
The BRICS countries are continuing their plans to establish a grain exchange, to divert agricultural trade away from Western platforms. The BRICS both produce and consume about 44% of the world’s total markets for corn, wheat and rice, with members Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Russia amongst the world’s largest producers and consumers.
The Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has met with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov at the Tashkent International Investment Forum. We discuss what was said and the latest in bilateral trade and investment trends.
The annual meeting of BRICS Agricultural Ministers has been taking place in India with several important initiatives being planned. Russia’s agricultural trade with BRICS countries rose 5% last year.
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