The President welcomed Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Iran and Ethiopia to the BRICS family, during the closing of the 15th Summit of the bloc. In his opinion, this event marks a new starting point for the cooperation mechanism. He also expressed his confidence in the bright future of the group.

“This membership expansion is historic, it shows the BRICS nations’ determination to work for unity and cooperation with developing countries, meet the needs and expectations of the international community and the common interests of emerging markets,” he stated.

The President also urged to build a new chapter on the joint work of developing countries and emerging markets.

In his remarks, Xi mentioned that the BRICS leaders exchanged on international and cooperation issues, reflected in the Johannesburg declaration.

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