BEIJING, October 18. /TASS/. Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez expressed his support for the proposal by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to improve ties within BRICS.

"Thanks to support from the Chinese government, we joined BRICS, a group of countries that proposed rethinking relations globally by rejecting hegemonism and respecting the principles of multilateralism," Fernandez said at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. "I also support President Putin’s proposal regarding work at BRICS to improve communication between our countries," he added.

Addressing a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club earlier this month, Putin said that, as the incoming BRICS chair for 2024, Russia plans to hold about 200 events in line with Moscow’s ambitions to carry out extensive work aimed at strengthening the global group. The Russian leader said at the Belt and Road Forum that Moscow has proposed an initiative to establish a permanent commission on transport logistics involving both BRICS members and partner states in order to tackle the issue of developing international transport corridors. He also invited forum participants to attend the 2023 Moscow Transport Week, which takes place next month.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country is the current BRICS chair, announced a major expansion of the group at its 15th summit in Johannesburg on August 22-24. On January 1, 2024, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will formally join the BRICS group, which is currently comprised of Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa.