PRETORIA, July 24. /TASS/. Seven countries were invited to take part in a meeting of high security officials from the BRICS nations, i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which opened on Monday in South Africa’s Johannesburg, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, the Minister in the South African Presidency, said.

"The friends of BRICS are a combination of countries who have expressed an interest in joining BRICS, those who chair prominent institutions of the Global South and those invited as per the Chair’s prerogative and henceforth invited as per the consensus reached between the host and fellow BRICS members," she said. "The Friends of BRICS countries who attended this meeting are Belarus, Burundi, Cuba, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."

She stressed that "it is a historic meeting because it is a first physical meeting after 3-years of COVID-19 pandemic and a meeting that includes the friends of BRICS to focus on matters of common interest and mutual benefit." "This will generate enduring partnerships resulting in enhanced global development and strengthened global resilience and global peace," she noted.

According to Ntshavheni, along with the plenary session, a series of bilateral meetings between the heads of the delegations were held on Monday. "It is expected that such engagements will continue into the future on matters of common interest between these countries," she added.

The meeting will continue on July 25. Russia is represented by Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev. China is represented by Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and member of the CCP Politburo Wang Yi.