Sputnik is live as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses the opening of the meeting of the BRICS foreign ministers in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.
According to Russia’s sous-Sherpa in the group, Pavel Knyazev, Russia invited representatives of about 10-15 more countries from among states friendly to Russia, including those that this year also preside over various regional integration associations, such as the SCO, ASEAN, Indian Ocean Coastal Association for Regional Cooperation, African Union, Arab League, and others.
On January 1, Russia became the chairman of BRICS for this year. It began with the accession of new members to the organization; in addition to the Russian Federation, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, it now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. After the accession of all new members, the BRICS membership expanded to 10 countries with a population of 3.6 billion people - almost half of the global total.
These states account for more than 40% of world oil production and about a quarter of world goods exports.