OREANDA-NEWS The BRICS union has surpassed the "Big Seven" (G7) in its importance, Chairman of the International Committee of the Federation Council Grigory Karasin said. In conversation with the "Tape.<url>" the politician listed possible topics of the upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The senator said that the leaders of the BRICS Five and invited representatives of the states will discuss the international situation.

"The stated topics are also economic growth and sustainable development. It is clear that while in South Africa, the participants will also discuss aspects of the development of relations between BRICS and Africa. In addition, among the stated topics, the financing system and reducing dependence on the dollar are quite important," Karasin said.

BRICS is a new popular international forum for making important decisions that concern more than half of the international community. The association is set up for constructive cooperation, unlike the "Big Seven", which preaches rivalry

"I heard that UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres confirmed his decision to participate. Therefore, we will wait for the appropriate results from this meeting," he concluded.

The BRICS Summit will be held from August 22 to 24 in Johannesburg. According to the South African Foreign Ministry, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invited the leaders of 67 countries and 20 representatives of organizations to participate in events at the upcoming summit.

Russia will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the BRICS summit. President Vladimir Putin will take part remotely.