MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev on Monday will begin a two-day visit to South Africa, the Security Council’s press service announced.

"In Johannesburg, Patrushev will attend the 13th annual meeting of BRICS High Representatives on National Security," the press service said in a statement, adding that Patrushev will also take part in a separate "Friends of BRICS" meeting at the level of security council secretaries and national security advisors.

The Russian Security Council secretary himself announced the coming meeting at talks with his counterparts from BRICS nations in late May. At the talks, he said that Moscow was ready to develop the five-member group’s cooperation across all domains as he gave his assurances that Moscow appreciated the level and nature of relations between the five BRICS states, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Security Council secretaries from BRICS member countries traditionally meet ahead of the group’s summits. This year’s BRICS summit will be held in South Africa’s Johannesburg on August 22-24. Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the event by video link, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent the country in person.