RIO DE JANEIRO, November 26 (RIA Novosti) - The next summit of BRIC countries will be held in Russia next year, President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Wednesday.

The first summit of the four BRIC members - Brazil, Russia, India and China - was held in July 2008 in Hokkaido, Japan. Russia had hosted a meeting of BRIC foreign ministers two months earlier, in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

"Next year we will hold the summit in Russia," Medvedev said after talks in Rio de Janeiro with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

During the meeting, the presidents discussed cooperation in oil and gas, energy including nuclear power, space, agriculture, and humanitarian issues. Medvedev also invited Lula da Silva to visit Russia.

The Russian leader said ties with Brazil and other BRIC members are particularly important in the context of the global credit crisis.

The Brazilian leader said he had "great hopes" for the 2009 summit.

On issues to be addressed at the meeting, he proposed: "We must ensure that deals are made more transparent, and more controllable. We need to revitalize the real sector of economy and avoid protectionist measures."

The term BRIC was first used in 2003 in a thesis published by the Goldman Sachs investment bank that named Brazil, Russia, India and China as large emerging economies likely to assume key global roles.