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Brasilia, August 21 (RHC)-- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled this Sunday to Johannesburg to participate later this week in the BRICS Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa),in which he will promote the expansion of the forum to more countries of the Global South.

"I participated in the creation of that important group and I am returning for its 15th meeting excited about Brazil's potential in its return to the international stage," Lula wrote this Sunday on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

In his message before the trip, Lula affirmed that "the participation of the countries of the Global South (Asia, Africa and Latin America) is fundamental in the confrontation of inequalities and the climate crisis and for a more balanced and fair world".

The Brazilian president will attend the meeting, which will be attended by the leaders of India, China and South Africa, while the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, will represent President Vladimir Putin.

On Lula's agenda is the possible expansion of the BRICS forum, which, according to Eduardo Saboia, director of the Asia Department of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, "is not a new topic" and around which discussions have advanced in recent times.

Lula has already expressed his support for the enlargement of the Brics and has even mentioned Argentina and Saudi Arabia as possible new members, and some Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, have expressed their interest in joining the forum.

The summit will be held between August 22 and 24.  After participating in the BRICS meeting, Lula will continue on to Angola for an official visit.

He will then travel to Sao Tome and Principe, where on August 27 he will participate in the summit of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), a mechanism that also includes Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor.