ST. PETERSBURG, July 11. /TASS/. The increasing number of BRICS participants confirms the demand for a multipolar world order, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said during the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

"The increase in the number of BRICS participants clearly confirms the demand for a multipolar and fair world order," he said.

According to Volodin, Russia has always been in favor of increasing the role of African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern states in international affairs. "We see that now more and more countries are striving to strengthen their sovereignty, national and cultural identity. This process is irreversible," Volodin added.

The 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum is taking place on July 11-12 at the Tavrichesky Palace in St. Petersburg. Russia took the baton as BRICS chair on January 1. Currently, the group comprises ten countries. Since its founding in 2006, BRICS has gone through two waves of expansion. In 2011, South Africa joined the original membership, which included Brazil, Russia, India and China. In August 2023, six new members, including Argentina, were invited to join the association at once, but in late December it declined to join. The five new members of the association - Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia began to fully operate in BRICS on January 1, 2024.