JOHANNESBURG, August 24. /TASS/. The decision on BRICS enlargement, adopted at the summit, will give the association more strength, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a news conference on the results of the 15th BRICS summit on Thursday.

"The enlargement will be a new starting point for the development of cooperation within BRICS and give the BRICS group more strength," Xi said. "I believe that as long as we work together, BRICS cooperation will have great prospects and the BRICS countries - a promising future."

The leaders of the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - adopted the Johannesburg Declaration. It was presented on Thursday after a meeting of the leaders in South Africa. Six new countries joined the group. Starting from 2024, six new countries will be affiliated with BRICS - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

In addition, by the next meeting in 2024, the financial institutions of the member countries will draft proposals for using national currencies and common payment instruments.