Nearly 70 leaders from the Global South have been invited to the BRICS Business Summit.
The summit's key focus is expected to be BRICS' possible expansion, as according to South African Sherpa Anil Sooklal, over 20 countries have expressed their interest in obtaining membership. Other discussion topics on the agenda include economic relations, trade infrastructure and the potential switch to a common currency to reduce member states' reliance on the US dollar.
The Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also in Johannesburg. President Vladimir Putin is taking part in the summit via videoconference.