BRICS will consolidate its position in the G20 group of the world's largest economies after the expansion, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that Russia will coordinate its policy with the new members in international fora.
"Naturally, the position of the expanded BRICS in the G20 will strengthen, because both Saudi Arabia and Argentina are here. So the informal division of the G20 into 'the G7 plus' and 'BRICS plus' is now taking shape. And we will certainly coordinate our approaches with the new [BRICS] members in the United Nations, the G20 and other international platforms," Lavrov told the Russian broadcaster.
BRICS — the group uniting the world's largest developing economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — held its annual top-level summit in South Africa's capital, Johannesburg, from Tuesday to Thursday. Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia and Egypt were invited to join the group during the summit.