India believes any potential expansion of the BRICS group should be based on unanimous agreement among all current member states, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said.

Kwatra noted that India maintains a positive outlook and an open-minded approach toward expansion. It is worth noting that the BRICS coalition comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and numerous countries have expressed interest in joining, both officially and unofficially.

Meanwhile, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal mentioned that all existing BRICS members welcome expansion, but the decision should be collective, taking into account all relevant details.

Kwatra emphasized that while many nations are interested in becoming part of BRICS to tap into the opportunities it offers, the expansion process requires the consensus of all member states and discussions regarding guiding principles.

All you need to know

South Africa's Johannesburg will be hosting BRICS leaders this week as the bloc eyes placing a number of world-impacting projects in motion as part of plans to steer the global political scene from Western centuries-long hegemony.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to arrive in the African country soon to attend the 3-day summit starting on Tuesday.

Notably, Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world with the largest Muslim population and South East Asia's biggest economy, and Bangladesh, the 8th most populous country worldwide, the 4th in terms of its Muslim population, and the second-largest economy in South Asia, announced that they will also be taking part in the event.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, will be joining remotely, citing a busy schedule to attend to urgent matters in the at-war country. Putin was targeted earlier with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, leaving South Africa with no choice but to enforce it, being a signatory to the intergovernmental organization.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Johannesburg instead.

The heads of 70 nations received invites to the unification meeting from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The international body has become more attractive to countries, given that its founding members represent more than 40% of the world's population and around 23% of its economy.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran submitted applications, while countries interested include Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, and Indonesia.

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