Russian President Dmitry Medvedev indicated on Thursday Moscow's readiness to discuss bringing South Africa into BRIC, the informal grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
"We are ready to develop various forms of cooperation with our South African partners, including... in the direction of BRIC," Medvedev said after talks in Moscow with South African President Jacob Zuma.
"We understand that... the participation of the Republic of South Africa in the discussion of the wide range of issues that we discuss in the BRIC forum today would be very productive," he said.
BRIC aims to improve the current global economic situation and strengthen cooperation between the four countries, seen as the main forces driving the global economy beyond the traditional rich developed nations.
The second BRIC summit was held in Brazil in April.
MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti)
