BRICS media summit kicks off in Moscow

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – A media summit of the BRICS economic group kicked off in Moscow on Saturday, featuring 120 foreign media executives from 60 outlets across 47 countries, including Yusuf Ozhan, Anadolu's deputy director-general and editor-in-chief.

The summit will focus on the role of the media in BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates – in fostering stability and cooperation within a multipolar world.

As the 2024 chair of BRICS, Russia is hosting the event for the first time, ahead of a BRICS Heads of State Summit next month in Kazan, Russia. The Tass news agency spearheaded the initiative for the media summit, aiming to elevate the forum's profile and highlight its connection to the upcoming state summit.

The decision to host the media summit in Moscow was endorsed during a 2023 forum in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The summit is being held in a BRICS plus/outreach format, with top media leaders from member countries, states seeking to join BRICS, as well as long-standing TASS partners from the Asia-Pacific region and CIS.

In total, more than 150 attendees are expected at the Moscow event.

Additionally, the BRICS family photo exhibit, a staple of media forums, will be launched as part of the media summit program.

The exhibit will feature the best photos from BRICS countries' leading media outlets, celebrating the cultural and civilizational diversity of BRICS nations and the wider world.

BRICS, founded in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India, and China, added South Africa in 2011, with its acronym formed from the first letters of the member countries' names.

In December 2023, several more countries joined, but the group decided to keep the name BRICS.