THE FAS RUSSIA HELD THE KICK-OFF MEETING OF THE BRICS COMPETITION AUTHORITIES

The meeting took place within the framework of the association under the auspices of Russian Chairmanship in BRICS in 2024

The meeting was attended by the competition authorities of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, as well as representatives of the competition authorities of the new member states of the association – Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.

During the meeting, Deputy Head of the FAS Russia Andrey Tsyganov told the participants about the formats and mechanisms of interaction between the BRICS competition authorities. There are BRICS Coordination Committee on Antimonopoly Policy and the BRICS Working Groups for the Research of Competition Issues in Socially Important Markets (pharmaceutical, food, digital and automotive markets), as well as the BRICS Working Group on Cartels.

Andrey Tsyganov also noted that competition authorities of the new member states are already aware of the progress and results of cooperation within the BRICS format, take an active part in international events, and memorandums of cooperation have been signed with colleagues from Iran and Egypt.

During the event, the co-chairs of the Working Groups told the new members about the goals and objectives of the work and shared the results of their researches and implemented projects.

Andrey Tsyganov, as co-chairman of the BRICS Working Group on Food, informed colleagues about the beginning of a study on competition issues in the agricultural market. A representative of the Brazilian Competition Authority highlighted the activities of the BRICS Working Group for the Research of Competition Issues in Digital Markets. The representative of the Competition Authority of India, in turn, spoke about the study of competition issues in the automotive markets conducted in 2021, as well as about the new direction of work of the BRICS competition authorities – analysis of competition in the renewable energy sector. The representative of the Competition Authority of China noted the activities of the BRICS Working Group on Pharmaceuticals.

The competition authorities of the new member states were invited to actively participate in the activities of the Working Groups. In addition, colleagues were advised to think about socially significant sectors that could form the basis of a new working group.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of the regulators of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates noted their high interest in developing cooperation in the BRICS format. Representatives of the new member countries stressed their willingness to expand and strengthen cooperation within the framework of the association in order to bring practices closer and improve the effectiveness of antimonopoly regulation.