Capitals: Agencies
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that nearly twenty countries have expressed interest in establishing partnership relations with the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Lavrov added - at the twentieth annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club - that "the world has become multipolar, as countries seek to find reliable partners, and the expansion of BRICS is the main confirmation of this," according to the (TASS) agency.
"Initially six countries joined the five BRICS member states, and after that, 15 or 20 other countries, as far as I know, expressed their intention to establish some kind of relationship [with the organization] as well," he continued. The statements of the Russian Foreign Minister, which came yesterday evening, Monday, were reported by the Middle East Sons Agency at dawn on Tuesday
The 15th BRICS summit was held from August 22 to 24 in Johannesburg, under the chairmanship of South Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced - in a press conference after the summit - that Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will join BRICS on January 1, 2024.