MAZALICA: COOPERATION WITH BRICS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR SRPSKA

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 29 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska has already established bilateral political contacts with BRICS members and considers it extremely important to eventually expand cooperation in the economic sphere, said Srđan Mazalica, head of the SNSD caucus in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.

"In Serbia, a mechanism for action within BRICS has already been launched through the establishment of a parliamentary committee and various initiatives. We are perhaps the most advanced in the region in this regard, although we face one obstacle - the BiH Presidency," Mazalica told SRNA while attending the international parliamentary conference BRICS - Serbia Among Friends in Belgrade.

He stressed that Republika Srpska has already institutionally participated in BRICS gatherings, noting that President Milorad Dodik attended both the BRICS Summit and the BRICS Sports Games.

"We had the opportunity to establish bilateral contacts at the political level with representatives of practically the largest countries in the world operating within BRICS," Mazalica said.

He emphasized that this is highly important for Republika Srpska, primarily in terms of economic diversification of foreign trade.

"But it is difficult at this moment to advance much in that field, so our activities within this supranational organization currently carry more of a political dimension," Mazalica explained. He is participating in the conference alongside RS National Assembly deputy Tamara Damjanović /SPS/.

As one of the speakers on the panel `What Serbia and Regional Countries Can Expect from BRICS` in the Serbian Parliament, Mazalica said he had been invited by the Socialist Movement to represent the RS Parliament as the head of its largest caucus.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, addressing the gathering, emphasized that BRICS is a community of equals, founded on the principle that no member has greater rights than another.

He contrasted this with the EU and other organizations where certain states enjoy greater privileges, and described BRICS as the best answer to the challenges of the modern world, bringing about a global shift toward multipolarity.

Botsan-Kharchenko added that BRICS may be the most diverse international organization, where differences are respected while consensus is achieved on issues of common importance.

The conference on cooperation between Serbia, the region, and BRICS also featured Socialist Movement leader Aleksandar Vulin, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming, as well as diplomatic representatives from Belarus, the UAE, Egypt, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria, Iran, and Palestine.

Other participants included Serbian MPs Dušan Bajatović /SPS/, Branko Pavlović /Mi - Voice of the People/, Đorđe Komlenski and Bojan Torbica /Socialist Movement/, Free Montenegro President Vladislav Dajković, Macedonian Parliament deputies Dragan Nedeljković and Redžep Ismail, and Russian MEP Diana Jovanović Šošak.