Russia's Sochi Hosts Symposium on Cooperation Between BRICS+, EU With Lawmakers

In the wake of last week's Russia-Africa Partnership Forum's ministerial conference, the Russian resort city is hosting the symposium "The Role of the State, Science and Society in the Development of Socioeconomic Cooperation between BRICS+ and European Countries and Organizations."

"Since the beginning of the escalation of geopolitical tensions in the region, the symposium in Sochi will be the first serious attempt to gather lawmakers from Russia, the EU countries, and BRICS Plus countries at one table for a frank but constructive conversation about what unites us, not what divides us," the press release said. "This is an icebreaker event that opens the way to restoring a full-fledged inter-parliamentary and public dialogue between the East and West of Europe, and through it between the political West and the Global South."

The organizers are the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the public organization "International BRICS Forum."

The event continues a series of events within the framework of the Russian presidency of the association.

Among the invited guests from the EU are members of the European Parliament from Greece, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as lawmakers from the national legislative bodies of Bulgaria, Germany, Serbia and other countries, the organizers said.

As Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted during the opening of the symposium, the conference is a direct dialogue between public figures, lawmakers, and scientists from the BRICS countries and European countries and organizations.

"We expect that this forum, this symposium, will become regular, and we will be able to hold it not as something unique, but as a platform where we will constantly and regularly conduct a dialogue and exchange ideas," he noted. "Today we would like to take a big step forward towards mutual understanding and renew a very serious dialogue on the future of the world in which we live."

As part of the symposium, participants will discuss the common future of the two parts of a single space of Eurasia. The first session will be devoted to the role of BRICS and European countries in building a more just and mutually beneficial world economic order. During the second, parliamentarians will consider the importance of interaction between BRICS and Europe in the context of large-scale geopolitical restructuring.

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15 November, 14:03