ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. BRICS has plenty of room for new members, and Russia is more than happy to offer support to these countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Putin recalled that in 2024, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Ethiopia have already been integrated into the BRICS family, and owing to this, the group’s share in global GDP has grown to 36%.

"BRICS has enormous potential for new members to join, and of course, we welcome and will support this aspiration of the interested partners to develop contact with BRICS on different continents," the Russian leader said.

Putin pointed out that Russia will continue to develop relations within BRICS not only regarding the economy and finance, but also security, humanitarian cooperation and other sectors.

"We will proceed with due consideration of global challenges, objective trends, and, I should emphasize, the growing capabilities of national economies," the president added.