Significant development: Sources on expansion of BRICS

Twenty-three countries have submitted their applications to join the BRICS and Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates UAE and Argentina have emerged as strong contenders for the groupings membership, he said at a briefing in New Delhi ahead of Prime Minister Modis visit to Johannesburg.

India took the lead in forging consensus on the selection of new members in the five-nation grouping BRICS, sources said on Wednesday.

They said significant development was achieved in the expansion of BRICS during the leaders' retreat on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Leaders' Retreat along with his counterparts from China, South Africa and Brazil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not travelled to Johannesburg for the annual summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

India took the lead in forging consensus on membership criteria and selection of new members of BRICS, the sources said.

India's efforts were guided by objective to incorporate New Delhi's strategic partners as new members, they said. The expansion of BRICS is a major focus area of the annual summit of the grouping.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Monday said there is considerable interest in joining the grouping by various countries. Twenty-three countries have submitted their applications to join the BRICS and Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Argentina have emerged as strong contenders for the grouping's membership, he said at a briefing in New Delhi ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to Johannesburg.