JOHANNESBURG, August 22. /TASS/. BRICS countries will strive to promote a fairer world order and multipolarity, according to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s address to the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue, which was read out by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.

"We will continue developing strategic partnership within BRICS, expanding the BRICS+ model, promoting the expansion process, strengthening unity and cooperation with other countries with emerging markets and with developing countries, promoting multipolarity in the world and the democratization of international relations. We will also make efforts to develop the world order in a fairer and more reasonable way," it says.

"Nowadays, the rise of countries with emerging markets and developing states represented by the BRICS nations dramatically changes the world map. In the past 20 years, the share of countries with emerging markets and developing states in global economic growth has reached 80%. In the past 40 years, their GNP increased from 24% to more than 40% of global GDP," Xi stated.

According to the Chinese leader, the BRICS nations and more than 50 world countries are not seeking to form any rival camp but want to set up a broad model of peaceful development. "I am glad to see that more than 20 countries have knocked on BRICS’ door. China sincerely welcomes all those who want to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism," Xi stressed.

The 15th BRICS summit is being held in South Africa from August 22 through 24. According to South Africa’s Ambassador at Large for Asia and BRICS Affairs and BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal, around 30 countries are interested in joining the association and some of them, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Ethiopia, have officially applied for membership. According to the sources of India’s Business Standard newspaper, five countries, namely Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, may be admitted at the current summit.