OREANDA-NEWS  At the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, it was decided to invite six more countries to join the association - Argentina, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

They will become official and full members of the BRICS from January 1, 2024.

Ramaphosa also said that the participants of the organization agreed on the basic principles, standards, criteria and procedures. He called the upcoming accession of six new countries the first phase of the agreed BRICS expansion process.

President Vladimir Putin noted that the adoption of this decision was not easy, as was the approval of the final declaration of the BRICS as a whole.

"I should note that this work was not easy. President Ramaphosa has shown amazing diplomatic skill in coordinating all positions, including those related to the expansion of BRICS," the Russian president said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the decision to admit new members to the BRICS. "The expansion will give us a new dynamic (...). It will strengthen the countries' faith in the new world order," he said.

A day earlier, the summit participants approved the procedure for expanding the organization - a document outlining the provisions and principles, as well as processes for reviewing applications from countries wishing to become BRICS members. It was not specified which principles were approved.

By the beginning of the summit, two dozen countries had submitted official applications to join the BRICS, and in total more than 40 states expressed interest in joining the organization.

The Commonwealth was established in 2006, it first included Brazil, Russia, India and China. Then South Africa joined the BRICS.