MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Maduro lands in Kazan for BRICS Summit

BRICS represents “a significant advance in the new world geopolitics,” Maduro said in Russia

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro landed late Friday in Kazan, Russia, for a guest appearance at the BRICS Summit as he intends to have his country join the bloc shortly. Upon arriving alongside First Lady and Congresswoman Cilia Flores, he was welcomed by local authorities. Also at the airport were Venezuela's Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Foreign Minister Yván Gil, who got to Kazan the day before.

“We are already part of this engineering of the multicentric and pluripolar world that is being born and we come to share the experience of the historical struggle of the Venezuelan people,” Maduro said. He also hoped the world would soon transition past colonialism, hegemonism, and imperialism, where countries “from the Global South” could embrace “independence, development, and prosperity.”

“We have the possibility of accessing another economy not based on sanctions, blackmail, hegemony, but based on cooperation, truly free trade, shared investment and technology,” Maduro underlined.

He also said his presence at this particular BRICS Summit was historic because it was the first time he was invited. On previous occasions, Venezuela was represented at a ministerial level.

Maduro also pointed out that it was always thought that countries with the largest oil reserves in the world would be grouped in a common economic project and now there was BRICS, “a significant advance in the new world geopolitics.”

“Here we come to defend and bring the truth and the free voice of a rebellious people that has passed the desert, and that is today standing, whole, complete, and victorious,” Maduro also said.

In the Bolivarian leader's view, BRICS is the epicenter of the new multipolar world and the diplomacy of peace.

Maduro seldom travels abroad given the arrest warrant against him for drug trafficking issued by the United States and supported with a pricetag on his head.