Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov awards Russia's Order of Friendship to South African BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal during a meeting of sherpas and sous-sherpas of the BRICS countries in Moscow, Russia. BRICS was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for the world's largest emerging economies. Initially, the bloc united Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Last summer, their leaders invited Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to join the bloc.
