MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The expanding membership of the BRICS is signaling a desire to seek an alternative to the prevailing international order after a failure of US economic leadership, Bloomberg said in an editorial article.

The US turned away from economic leadership in line with the policy of former President Donald Trump, a course that was then affirmed by incumbent President Joe Biden, the article said. The IMF and World Bank are "increasingly rudderless" and don’t meet the interests of BRICS members, according to the piece.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted, when they spoke by phone on August 28, that BRICS expansion would undoubtedly help bolster the group’s influence in international affairs, the Kremlin said.

The BRICS held a summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24. Summit participants agreed that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE would join the group on January 1, 2024. Another international group, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, announced in July that Iran was joining as its ninth member.