The new platform of cooperation on nuclear issues within BRICS has appeal for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as its activities are closely aligned with the UN nuclear watchdog's decisions and regulations, the chief of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, said in an interview to a Russian TV channel.
"We see the IAEA's interest in our association, our platform. There is a need in such platforms where the IAEA decisions and certain regulatory standards can be tested in practice and shown how it works. With the added benefit of supporting projects similar to those implemented by Mr. Grossi's team on a planetary scale," Likhachev said.
Russia holds BRICS's rotating presidency in 2024, which will culminate in an annual top-level summit in the city of Kazan next week. One of the priorities of its presidency was launching new industry-specific formats of cooperation among member states in such areas as transport, climate, nuclear medicine, geology, and finance.
BRICS is an intergovernmental association which Brazil, Russia, India, and China created in 2006, and South Africa joined in 2010. The group had its second expansion this year, admitting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has reportedly not formalized its membership but has been taking part in BRICS meetings.