MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. The parliamentary forum of BRICS member states will take place in St. Petersburg on July 11-12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with representatives of relevant international affairs parliamentary committees of BRICS countries.

"I understand that during this visit you are to discuss draft documents and practical issues related to organization of the BRICS parliamentary forum that will take place on July 11-12 in St. Petersburg," he said.

The BRICS group, established in 2006, first expanded in 2011, when South Africa joined the four founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The decision to invite six more countries to join BRICS, including Argentina, was made at the group’s summit in Johannesburg in August 2023. However, Argentina declined the invitation to join in late December. Five new members (Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia) formally became full-fledged members of the BRICS group on January 1.