The BRICS group has no plans to change its name, despite the admission of new members. However, the BRICS group name could be changed in the future when all members agree, TASS quoted Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.
"Of course, this is an issue that requires a consensus decision from the BRICS countries. But so far there have been no proposals on the issue of changing the group's name. There is now a common understanding that the BRICS name should be kept the same," Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the BRICS renaming.
BRICS is the first letter in the English names of the five founding members of the group - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
BRICS was founded in 2006, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was the first country to join in 2011, and the letter "S" was added to the group's name.
In 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became new members of BRICS.
Russia is assuming the one-year presidency of BRICS from January 1, 2024. Russia's presidency includes more than 250 different events, of which the BRICS summit in Kazan is the main event.
From 22 to 24 October, the BRICS summit is scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia. In addition to the official event, events under the BRIC+ and BRICS expansion formats will also be held. Dozens of countries have been invited to attend these events, many of which have applied to join BRICS.
According to TASS, Sri Lanka plans to officially apply to join BRICS at the Kazan summit.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira revealed that BRICS countries will discuss the feasibility of expanding BRICS at the summit in Kazan, Russia. "Almost 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS," he shared in an interview with CNN Brazil.
According to the top Brazilian diplomat, BRICS members will have to assess whether it is reasonable to provide membership to more countries.
"It will be very difficult to admit all these countries at the same time because BRICS does not have an official structure or a secretariat. If admitted at the same time, BRICS would be a completely different organization," Foreign Minister Vieira noted.
He affirmed that Brazil is ready to expand BRICS but only when countries are provided with membership in each stage.
Also according to TASS, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold about 20 bilateral talks on the sidelines of the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan, with the first meetings starting as early as October 21 and lasting until October 24.
