MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. The BRICS member countries represent divergent political systems and religions, but they are all equal within the framework of the intergovernmental group, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with top Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

"Strengthening the potential and role of BRICS in world affairs is our priority. Within the framework of the association, equal interaction is carried out between countries representing various economic and political systems, religions and macro-regions," Lavrov said.

According to him, the international authority of BRICS is steadily growing. "The addition of five new participants from January 1 this year is a confirmation of this. BRICS is one of the pillars of a multipolar world," the minister added.

He pointed out that Russia has been chairing BRICS since January 1, highlighting that Moscow has plans to carry out a program of more than 200 events throughout 2024 under its chairmanship. "We will promote the organic integration of new participants into the work of the association," Lavrov stressed.

The BRICS group has gone through two waves of expansion since its founding in 2006. First, in 2011, South Africa joined the original four founding countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Then, in August 2023, six new candidates for membership were simultaneously invited to join the association after its Johannesburg summit: Argentina, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. In late December, however, the new Argentinian government of President Javier Milei announced that Buenos Aires was declining the invitation to join. The other five countries formally joined BRICS on January 1, bringing the group’s membership up to ten countries.

The official motto of Russia’s chairmanship of BRICS is: "Strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security."