BRICS lawmakers eye closer parliamentary cooperation

Senior lawmakers of BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, agreed to strengthen parliamentary cooperation among them.

The agreement was reached during a BRICS parliamentary forum held in St. Petersburg, Russia on Saturday, which was presided over by Zhang Ping, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress -- the national legislature.

The forum was held to implement the outcome of the ninth summit of BRICS leaders in southeast China's coastal city of Xiamen last month.

Zhang said legislatures from the five countries should push for reform of international governance and improve exchanges of governance experience to create a sound legal environment for broader BRICS cooperation.

Participants in the forum expressed support for closer cooperation among their countries' legislatures.