BRICS heads of state will meet at the upcoming summit on August 22-24 in South Africa.
It is also expected to see an announcement on the expansion of the group, where twenty-two countries are said to have officially applied to join.
South Africa's BRICS Ambassador Anil Sooklal said on Wednesday that there will be a planned announcement on BRICS expansion at a gathering soon.
BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
It has become an increasingly frequent mention this year as many see its establishment as challenging the power of the G7 and the United States in the eyes of the world.
Not only that, the group also plans to reduce the world's dependence on the US dollar which is considered unprofitable.
According to Sooklal, representatives from 71 countries have been invited to attend the summit so far.
He said, the event will be the largest gathering in recent times that brings together countries from the Global South** to discuss current global challenges.
**Global South is a term that generally includes countries in the regions of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
The following are the countries that have officially applied to join BRICS:
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Bangladesh
Venezuela
Argentina
Indonesia
Ethiopia
Bahrain
Mexico
Nigeria
Algeria
Egypt
Iran
