The Russian Foreign Ministry also said on Thursday that the sides discussed the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24 during a telephone conversation.
"On October 17, Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola. During the conversation, they discussed the development of bilateral relations, preparation of the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in Sochi on November 9-10, as well as the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24," the statement said.
BRICS is an intergovernmental association created in 2006. Russia assumed the BRICS chairmanship on January 1 this year. The year began with the accession of new members to the association: in addition to Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, it now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE.
Russia's BRICS chairmanship is held under the motto of strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security. As part of its chairmanship, the Russian Federation is organizing more than 200 political, economic and social events. The BRICS summit with the participation of heads of state will be held in Kazan from October 22 to 24.