PRETORIA, August 28. /TASS/. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) pays special attention and shows increased interest in BRICS as an international association the power of which is growing worldwide, Russian Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo Ilyas Iskandarov told TASS.

"The DRC leadership has expressed great interest in developing partnership with BRICS countries, the number of which has grown since January 1," Iskandarov said. "After the admission of Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia into BRICS, the association accounts for more than 30% of the total land area, more than 40% of the world's population and more than 30% of the world's GDP," Iskandarov added. The ambassador called the expansion impressive and noted a remarkable increase in presence of African countries in the association.

According to Iskandarov, Brazzaville views BRICS primarily as an influential and promising economic force capable of building a long-term global partnership based on the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation.

"These are the benchmarks that Africa would like to achieve, realizing its importance as a stakeholder of natural and human resources that are vital to the world economy," Iskandarov pointed out. "The people of Congo prioritize the establishment of strategic cooperation with China, Brazil and India. Meanwhile, they emphasize the importance of cooperation with Russia in the political, economic and military-technical areas. In my opinion, there is another important detail: Brazzaville is impressed by the fact that BRICS members have a coordinated position on supply chain issues, as well as on overcoming the restrictive measures imposed against Russia, that, obviously, complicate the further development of trade and economic relations globally," the envoy concluded.