Iranian artists, officials to attend the BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum in Moscow

TEHRAN-Several Iranian artists, officials, and businesswomen will participate in the BRICS Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum, due to be held in Moscow, Russia, from June 2 to 4.

With the support of the Eurasian Women’s Forum, the forum is a business network for female entrepreneurs in BRICS countries. It will provide a platform for dialogue, where the representatives of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (WBA) National Chapters, business, social, and government circles will discuss new opportunities and challenges in advancing women entrepreneurship in the expanded BRICS countries.

More than 300 attendees from 30 countries will take part in the event, where over 70 speakers are to discuss various issues, IRNA reported.

Invited by the forum, Iranian painter Ayda Razaghzadeh will attend the event, showcasing her collection of five oil-on-canvas paintings, conveying a common concept of cooperation and energy transfer.

Painting since 2010, she has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in Tehran, Dubai, and Barcelona. She won the Leading Woman in Art award from the 22nd Middle East Women Leaders Excellence Awards in Dubai in 2023.

At the forum’s opening ceremony on June 3, officials from Russia, Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran will speak. Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to the Russian Federation will be the Iranian speaker at the ceremony.

After the opening ceremony, the plenary session “BRICS: Opportunities for Growth and Development” will be held, during which the participants will discuss the areas and directions of joint mutually beneficial activities of the BRICS members and prospects for their growth and development.

Ashraf Sadat Miri Tameh, Advisor to the Minister of Economy and Finance on Women’s Affairs, will represent Iran at the session, where representatives from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia will also speak.

Afterward, the panel session “International Settlements in BRICS National Currencies: Main Opportunities and Challenges” will be held, in which the development of trade and economic cooperation in BRICS countries requires increasing the share of settlements in national currencies or establishing effective financial platforms.

Minoo Kiani Rad, University Lecturer for Undergraduate Courses at the University of Tehran and Khatam University, and Former Vice-Governor of Foreign Exchange at the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran will address the session along with speakers from China, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

The program will continue with the panel session “BRICS: Creative Industries as a Growth Factor”. In the modern world, business in creative industries forms new niches at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and creativity, expanding opportunities for the application of human capital. Creative industries not only create jobs and highly competitive products but also contribute to improving the quality of life of people and fulfilling their potential. The development of innovative infrastructure enables the BRICS countries to shape a positive image, attract more international investments, and contribute to the growth of their tourism potential.

From Iran, Nafiseh Shahi Nouri, the CEO of Ilsa Creative House based on cultural industries will deliver a speech at the event along with speakers from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, and South Africa.

The next panel session will be “Tourism in BRICS: On the Way to Synergy”. The share of tourists visiting the BRICS countries is noticeably increasing, contributing to developing the tourism sector. The growth in tourist flow will positively impact the economy of each of the BRICS countries, the preservation of the currency balance, and the strengthening of our countries’ positions in the international tourism market. A key condition in this regard is to ensure comfortable and safe conditions for the movement and stay of tourists in the BRICS countries, as well as at transportation, tourist infrastructure, and cultural, and natural heritage sites.

Fatemeh Bonyadi, the Head of the Digital Innovations Center in the PR department of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, a lecturer at Fars News College, a documentary film director and editor, and a freelance science journalist, will represent Iran at the session, where speakers from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, South Africa, and the UAE will also address the attendees.

The last panel session of the day will be “The Role of Women in an Inclusive BRICS Economy”. Women play a key role in the inclusive economies of the BRICS countries as drivers of socio-economic progress and important actors in shaping a sustainable and diverse labor market.

The session speakers will share their experiences and best practices to enhance women’s participation in shaping an inclusive business environment that promotes sustainable development in the BRICS countries.

Mina Mehrnoosh, the Owner and CEO of KASBINO (Iran’s first social business network), will speak at the event, where speakers from Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, and South Africa will also be present.

Establishing the BRICS WBA was proposed at the First International Women’s Congress of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS member states in July 2017. In the Russian BRICS Chairmanship framework, the Inaugural Meeting of the BRICS WBA took place in July 2020.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Originally identified to highlight investment opportunities, the grouping evolved into a cohesive geopolitical bloc, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies since 2009. Bilateral relations among BRICS are conducted mainly based on non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.

The founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China held the first summit in Yekaterinburg in 2009, with South Africa joining the bloc a year later. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates joined the organization in January 2024.

SS/SAB