KAZAN, October 23. /TASS/. The BRICS must become an efficient instrument for ensuring global peace and progress, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa said during the BRICS Summit.

According to Ramaphosa, the level of progress, already achieved by the association, "must make BRICS to become an even more effective instrument for global peace and for global progress on all levels - economic and otherwise."

The 16th BRICS Summit, which is the key event of Russia’s chairmanship in the association, is being held in Kazan on October 22-24. The BRICS group was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining it in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, became its full-fledged members. The Kazan summit will be the first to be attended by the new members of the association. Representatives of over 30 countries are expected to take part.