BRICS: A Solid Football Team

Speaking about the new composition of the BRICS after the enlargement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov compared this group to a football team.

Russia Assumes Chairmanship in 2024

Lavrov said today, Thursday, at a press conference following the BRICS summit in South Africa: “Now we have 11 countries in the organization – we are now like a solid football team.”

The group currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. At the current summit, it was decided to expand the BRICS by accepting Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Ethiopia and Argentina as full members from January 1, 2024.

Lavrov pointed out that Russia, which will assume the chairmanship of the group in 2024, “will not wait until January 1,” but will start contacts with new BRICS members in advance and help them “get to work.”

He said: “In this way, we are ensuring that all 11 (countries) – this is how we became a kind of football team – are fully informed by the Kazan summit (in 2024) on the substance of the issues that have been declared by our presidency.”

Expanding BRICS Membership

Earlier today, BRICS invited 6 countries to join it, with the list including 3 Arab countries, namely Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, as well as Iran, Argentina and Ethiopia – which will come into force on January 1.

Source: RT