MOSCOW, Aug 23 creation of the BRICS, continues to inspire the member countries of the association to build a multipolar, fair and inclusive international order, said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
«The momentum that served to create the BRICS 15 years ago continues to inspire us to build a multipolar, just and inclusive international order,» he stressed during the BRICS open plenary session.
A three-day BRICS summit opened in South Africa yesterday — the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, together with representatives of dozens of countries, are discussing the issue of expanding the group and admitting new members to its ranks.
The South African Foreign Ministry also reported earlier that 23 countries officially applied to join the BRICS (including Iran, which applied for membership on June 27, 2022), a number of states expressed their interest at the unofficial level — in total, South Africa invited 67 countries of the «global South» and Africa to the summit. In recent years, by tradition, the country chairing the BRICS invites not only the leaders of the «five», but also representatives of other states to the summit meeting for discussions in the BRICS+ format.