South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also invited leaders of 67 countries to the summit, including 53 other African countries. The origins of the BRICS can be traced to 2006, when the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met for the first time on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marking the beginning of BRIC cooperation. In June 2009, the BRIC leaders held their first meeting in Russia, upgrading BRIC cooperation to Summit level. In 2011, with South Africa officially becoming a member, BRIC was enlarged to BRICS.
Since 2009, the BRICS leaders have convened 14 formal meetings and nine informal meetings. In 2017, China successfully hosted the BRICS Xiamen Summit. The BRICS leaders unanimously agreed to develop a closer, broader and more comprehensive strategic partnership, and consolidate the three-wheel-driven cooperation covering economy, political security and people-to-people exchanges. The BRICS leaders also set up the idea of BRICS+ cooperation and jointly ushered in the second Golden Decade of BRICS cooperation.
