BEIJING, October 22. /TASS/. BRICS countries have become an important power in the international stage, capable of contributing to the establishment of a new world order, Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmet Hajiyev said.

"The world cannot be unipolar. BRICS countries have become an important power on the international stage," he pointed out in an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency ahead of the BRICS group’s summit in the Russian city of Kazan. "We believe that BRICS countries have enormous potential and are capable of contributing to the establishment of a new world order, based on justice, international law and the equality of countries," Hajiyev added.

He added that BRICS was an important platform for the nations of the Global South to express their positions and increase their influence in international affairs.

The 16th BRICS summit, the key event of Russia’s chairmanship of the group, is taking place in Kazan on October 22-24. The group has expanded twice since being created in 2006. South Africa joined the four founding nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China - in 2011. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became full-fledged BRICS members on January 1, 2024.

The Kazan Summit is the first one for the group’s new member states. More than 30 countries are expected to participate in the event. The foreign leaders visiting Kazan particularly include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith.