Six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - are to be invited to become new members of the Brics bloc.

The announcement comes from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting the summit of Brics leaders in Johannesburg.

BRICS is an informal group of states comprising the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa.

It was the Russian side that initiated the creation of BRICS.

On 20 September 2006, the first BRICS Ministerial Meeting was held at the proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of a UN General Assembly Session in New York.

Foreign ministers of Russia, Brazil and China and the Indian Defence Minister took part in the meeting. They expressed their interest in expanding multilateral cooperation.

The growing economic might of BRICS countries, their significance as one of the main driving forces of global economic development, their substantial population and abundant natural resources form the foundation of their influence on the international scene.

In 2013, BRICS accounted for about 27 percent of the global GDP (in terms of the purchasing power parity of their national currencies). The total BRICS population is 2.88 billion (42 percent of the entire global population), and the five countries cover 26 percent of the planet’s land.

BRICS countries are influential members of leading international organisations and agencies, including the UN, the G20, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77. They are also members of various regional associations.

The Russian Federation is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia and China are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Brazil is a member of the Union of South American Nations, MERCOSUR and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

The Republic of South Africa is a member of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community. India is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Relations between BRICS partners are built on the UN Charter, generally recognised principles and norms of international law and the following principles, which were agreed by member countries at their 2011 Summit: openness, pragmatism, solidarity, non-bloc nature and neutrality with regard to third parties.