BRICS

South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa announced this at the BRICS summit.

"International rules must be written and upheld jointly by all countries based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter rather than dictated by those with strongest muscles or the loudest of voice. BRICS countries should practice true multilateralism, stick to solidarity and oppose division," he said while addressing the plenary session of the BRICS summit.

"Despite a shaky world economy, India has emerged as the world's fastest-growing major economy. India will soon become $5 trillion economy," Modi said in his address.

The diplomat said in Johannesburg that 22 countries have formally applied to join the group, while "an equal number" of states "have been informally asking about becoming BRICS members", RT reported. Sooklal described BRICS as an "inclusive" organisation that has always been open to dialogue with the larger global community. 

The announcement came after a South African leader said that any attempt to arrest Vladimir Putin would be a declaration of war against Russia. This is because if Putin leaves Russian soil, he will be subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, BBC reported.

Speaking at the Friends of BRICS meeting in South Africa, Amir-Abdollahian noted that such a position will certainly be further enhanced if other like-minded powers would join the group, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Friday in a statement.Iran can be a "reliable" partner for BRICSin the future, the Minister said.

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, reports Xinhua news agency. South Africa assumed the BRICS presidency on January 1, 2023, taking over from China.

Gungubele made the remarks on Thursday while briefing the media about the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported. This year's summit will be held under the theme: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism," according to the Minister.

In response to media queries about the "High-level Dialogue on Global Development", held virtually on the sidelines of the BRICS meetings, a Foreign Office spokesperson said that Pakistan is fully committed to taking bilateral and multilateral cooperation to new heights, Geo News reported. According to the spokesperson, a number of developing and emerging economies were invited to the high-level dialogue on global development.

Beijing-based state-owned news organization Global Times said that with the conflict in Ukraine as a backdrop along with the uncertain economic situation at an international level, mounting inflation in Western countries, and rising global prices of basic commodities that threaten the development of various emerging countries, "the voice of the BRICS as a mechanism for cooperation is more important than ever".