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Taking part in the meeting were National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Ajit Kumar Doval, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, Minister in the Presidency of the Republic of South Africa Khumbudzo Phophi Silence Ntshavheni, Secretary-General of the National Security Council of the Arab Republic of Egypt Alaa Youssef, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Ahmadian, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for National Security of the United Arab Emirates Ali Al Shamsi, Executive Director of the Joint Intelligence and Analysis Centre of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Tadesse Million Lema, Deputy Special Assistant to the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Abdul Hak Neto, and Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Sergei Shoigu.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

I am delighted to welcome you all to St Petersburg. Thank you for being here in Russia’s northern capital. In this regard, I would like to remind you that the BRICS association was established right here, in this very building in St Petersburg.

At that time, the leaders of three states – India, Russia and China – agreed during a meeting to hold regular meetings at the top level, as well as other events. This is how the RIC (Russia, India and China) association was born and began to grow, and today, I have the privilege and pleasure to welcome the participants in the meeting of BRICS high-ranking officials for security matters.

I know that yesterday, you had a lively and productive discussion on the most relevant aspects of the global situation, on global and regional stability concerns.

This is the fourteenth meeting held by BRICS in this format. However, this time it saw the participation of delegations from the states that joined our association as full-fledged members on January 1.

Moreover, a meeting was held with our colleagues from the countries that are not yet part of BRICS but have shown a sincere interest in working more closely with our association. This was done at Russia’s initiative, and we appreciate your support.

I want to emphasise that the meeting of high-ranking representatives is a crucial step in preparing for the BRICS summit and BRICS Plus/Outreach, scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia, on October 22–24.

Please convey to your country’s leaders that we look forward to their participation in the summit. We plan to discuss in depth the future expansion of the comprehensive partnership among BRICS member countries and to finalise a package of agreements covering various sectors and areas of cooperation.

As the current BRICS chair, this year Russia has taken a highly responsible approach to organising joint activities within the association.

Our chairmanship has been assigned a crucial task: to facilitate the swift and seamless integration of new member countries into all BRICS mechanisms. Additionally, we have addressed the increasing interest in BRICS from numerous states. Currently, over 34 countries have expressed their desire to participate in the activities of our association in some capacity.

As a result, we have initiated active discussions with all BRICS participants regarding the framework for a new category of partner states, which is set to be approved in Kazan. We will also consider a number of potential candidates for this status.

I want to highlight that the programme of the Russian presidency is both extensive and varied. It encompasses over 200 events designed to enhance partnership across all key areas, including politics and security, economics and finance, as well as cultural and humanitarian relations.

To date, more than 70 percent of the chairmanship plan has been completed, with approximately 150 events, meetings, and industry forums already conducted. Most of the expert and ministerial meetings have taken place, including notable forums such as the BRICS parliamentary and inter-parliamentary forums, meetings of ministers of education and sports, as well as meetings of heads of prosecutorial services, chief justices, and heads of supreme audit institutions. All of these events have been conducted in a constructive and cooperative spirit.

Under the Russian presidency, a meeting of the BRICS foreign ministers took place, including an extended session with representatives from the Global South and East. This event was held in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in June.

Another meeting of BRICS foreign ministers is scheduled for late September in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

A regular meeting of the BRICS Energy Ministers will take place during the Russian Energy Week in Moscow on September 26–28.

Under Russia’s presidency, new areas of cooperation have been initiated, including meetings of transport ministers, heads of geological services, and a BRICS forum on nuclear medicine.

In the cultural sphere, the civil and academic BRICS forums, the Friendship Games, and thematic festivals and exhibitions in various Russian cities have had a significant impact. Right now, the 10^th International Cultural Forum is taking place here in St Petersburg, where a meeting of the BRICS ministers of culture has already taken place on its sidelines.

The Russian presidency places great emphasis on the issues within your competence as high-ranking representatives for security. We are building on the truly impressive experience that BRICS has accumulated in cooperating to respond to the threats of terrorism and extremism, illegal weapons and drug trafficking, cross-border crime, and illegal migration.

Specific results of the BRICS member states’ joint work include the creation of a special online register for exchanging data on computer attacks or incidents. The adoption of the decision to establish a BRICS council on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism is nearing completion. In July, the ninth plenary session of the anti-terrorism working group was successfully held in Moscow.

As part of the BRICS anti-corruption work, member countries’ common approaches to combating bribery and to the return of assets and proceeds from illegal criminal activity have been approved at the suggestion of the Russian side.

An additional boost was given to cooperation among the BRICS member states in the fight against drug crime. During the latest meeting of the anti-drug working group in May, agreements were reached on cooperation in preventing the use of information technologies and virtual payment systems in drug trafficking.

Colleagues, this is all I wanted to say at the beginning of our conversation and I hope for your active response.

The floor goes to Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu. Go ahead, please.

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