BRICS is an acronym that stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It is a grouping of emerging national economies that seek to establish deeper ties between their nations and cooperate on economic expansion. The term was originally coined in 2001 as "BRIC" by Jim ONeill, a Goldman Sachs economist, for Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Later in 2010, South Africa was added to the group, expanding the acronym to BRICS or BRICK. The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States. The foreign ministers of the initial four BRIC General states (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) met in New York City in September 2006 at the margins of the General Debate of the UN Assembly, beginning a series of high-level meetings. A full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 16 June 2009.