OREANDA-NEWS. The total value of investment projects approved by the BRICS New Development Bank (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) exceeded $ 10 billion. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with the National Institute of Information of Suriname.

“Building up strategic partnerships along the BRICS line is one of the priorities of Russia's foreign policy”, Lavrov noted. “In this connection, I can't but rejoice that the dialogue within the framework of the Five Group has gained a very good pace in recent years. this year, under the Brazilian chairmanship, the XI summit will take place - the "five" has become one of the important pillars of the emerging more just and democratic multipolar architecture of the world order".

“The economy remains an integral part of the partnership, especially since today the BRICS association surpassed the Group of Seven in terms of aggregate economic power,” the Russian Foreign Minister continued. “The New Development Bank is successfully working, which approved investment projects worth more than $ 10 billion. The conditional currency pool is functioning effectively reserves, designed to help maintain the financial stability of the five countries.

Lavrov also drew attention to the interaction of the BRICS countries in the humanitarian sphere. In particular, he recalled that at the end of September in the Brazilian Curitiba the international biennale of contemporary art will open. “I’m sure: the BRICS summit on November 13-14 will be an important milestone in promoting five-way cooperation in all three main areas of strategic partnership - political, economic and humanitarian”, the Russian minister said.