Yekaterinburg: Iran has urged the BRICS group of emerging economies to place economic and financial cooperation high on the bloc's agenda. Majid Samadzadeh Saber, an advisor to the Iranian foreign minister, made the remarks Wednesday in an address before a summit of BRICS' national representatives in Yekaterinburg, Russia. According to Islamic Republic News Agency, the Iranian official also called for the establishment of an 'agile and cost-effective' secretariat for BRICS. The summit, known as the Sherpa meeting, has been organized to review Russia's year-long presidency over BRICS and discuss the priorities for the coming year under Brazil's leadership. During his address, the Iranian advisor called for efforts to streamline BRICS operations with a focus on economic cooperation between member states. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister and chair of the meeting, also hailed BRICS as a driving force in transitioning the current global system towards a multipolar and multilateral framework.