ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. The BRICS economies have been capable of disrupting the US hegemony, Bolivian President Luis Arce said at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"Nowadays, the world order is switching to a fairer and more balanced state, based on multipolarity and multilateralism," he said. "The economies of the BRICS bloc have been able to smash the hegemony of the United States, and they are the hope for the development of cooperation and complementarity among the countries."
The Bolivian president pointed out that his country eyes participation in BRICS, as this offers "tremendous prospects for transformation and transfiguration along with accelerated industrialization."
The BRICS group has seen two waves of expansion since its establishment in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the four founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. In August 2023, six new members, including Argentina, were invited to join the group. However, Argentina turned down the invitation in late December. Five new members - Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia - were integrated into the BRICS family on January 1, 2024.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.