The Embassy of Bolivia in Russia handed over to the Foreign Ministry a note about the country’s desire to join the BRICS, the head of the Moscow diplomatic mission, Maria Luisa Ramos Ursagaste said.
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“We conveyed this note to all countries about our desire to join the BRICS, then, by the decision of the BRICS, we invited the president (of Bolivia) to the summit, precisely because we had already submitted an application and, of course, we passed it on here,” the ambassador said.
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In 2022, BRICS announced that it would expand the number of member countries to make the organization more inclusive. At least 19 states have already expressed their desire to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
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As the Sherpa of South Africa in the Anil Suklal association previously stated, 13 countries were officially asked to become members of the BRICS, and six more were asked unofficially. The twentieth country could be Venezuela. As the Ambassador of South Africa in Moscow, Mzuvukile Maketuka, said in an interview, all countries of the association welcome the expansion, but it is necessary to determine the modalities for accepting new members and this issue should be decided collectively.
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The BRICS summit, which will be held in Johannesburg on August 22-24, will be attended by the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa, Russia will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate via video link.