(VOVWORLD) - South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his support for an expansion of the BRICS group during a televised address to the nation, ahead of the group’s 15th summit in Johannesburg from Tuesday to Thursday.
 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Ramaphosa said that an expanded BRICS would represent a diverse group of nations with a common desire for a more balanced world order, adding that over 20 countries have formally applied to join BRICS, with several others expressing their interest in becoming part of the BRICS family.
Ramaphosa will attend the BRICS summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend in person, President Vladimir Putin will participate in the summit online.
The BRICS community accounts for a quarter of the global economy and a fifth of global trade, and is home to 40% of the world's population.