Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Russia next week to participate in the 16th BRICS Summit, scheduled for October 22-23 in Kazan. The summit, which will be held under the chairmanship of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will bring together leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa to discuss pressing global issues and cooperation among the BRICS nations.
The theme of this year's summit, "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security," is expected to focus on bolstering international cooperation and addressing challenges in global governance.
"The Summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration," the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
Modi's upcoming visit is his second to Russia this year following an earlier trip to Moscow in July.
The BRICS grouping, which brings together major emerging economies, represents 41 per cent of the world's population, 24 per cent of global GDP, and over 16 per cent of world trade. Originally formed as BRIC, the group was renamed BRICS in 2010 following South Africa's inclusion as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers' meeting in New York.
It has since expanded to include Middle Eastern countries, including Iran.
{{/usCountry}}It has since expanded to include Middle Eastern countries, including Iran.
{{/usCountry}}Prime Minister Modi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with President Putin on October 22, on the sidelines of the summit. The invitation for the bilateral meeting was extended by Putin in September when he met India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, during the BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting in St. Petersburg.
"We will be expecting Mr Modi in Kazan. I also suggest holding a bilateral meeting there to close the books on our joint work in implementing the agreements reached during his visit to Moscow and outline some prospects for the near future," Putin said, according to a Kremlin statement.
Putin on Friday asserted that the BRICS group will generate most of the global economic growth in the coming years, thanks both to its size and relatively fast growth compared with that of Western developed nations.