MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Russia supports the accession of Saudi Arabia to the BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday.

"Yes, we support it, but this requires a consensus of all the BRICS countries," he said.

According to him, Saudi Arabia is a rapidly developing country, which is due not only to its leading position in the hydrocarbon market.

"This is also due to the fact that the Crown Prince, the government of Saudi Arabia have very big plans for diversifying the economy, which is very important. They have entire national development plans designed for this goal," the Russian President said.

He expressed confidence that, given the enthusiasm and creativity of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, these plans will be implemented.

"Therefore, of course, Saudi Arabia deserves to be a member of major international organizations, such as the BRICS, and such as the SCO. Most recently, we determined the status of Saudi Arabia in the SCO and will develop relations with this country both bilaterally and on multilateral platforms" Putin added.

Earlier, after his visit to Saudi Arabia President of South Africa Cyril Ramaposa, said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud had expressed the desire of the kingdom to join the BRICS.

About BRICS

BRICS is an informal interstate organization that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The acronym BRICS is derived from the member-countries’ names in English. The organization seeks to develop comprehensive cooperation among member countries in the economy, finance, education, science, culture and other areas. The BRICS countries have a major potential for economic growth. They occupy about 30% of the globe’s dry land and account for more than 40% of the world's population, almost half of the world's wheat and rice production and about 15% of the world's gold reserves. Their aggregate GDP at purchasing power parity exceeds 54%.