BRICS - The addition of six new member states will propel the BRICS group of countries far ahead of its major rival, the G7, in economic terms, several Russian media outlets reported this week, citing calculations based on global data. BRICS currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but next January it will admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. According to reports from the news outlets RBK and TASS, the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the expanded BRICS in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) will be roughly $65 trillion. This would see the bloc’s share of global GDP rise from the current 31.5% to 37%. In comparison, the share of the G7 group of advanced economies is currently around 29.9%.