MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. Invitations to take part in the BRICS summit in Kazan have been sent to 38 countries, 32 of them have been accepted so far, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.

"Invitations to the summit have been sent to 38 nations. These are member states and those countries that want to cooperate with our organization. Thirty-two of them have already confirmed their participation," the aide said. He noted that out of these 32 states, 24 countries have confirmed their participation in the summit at the highest level.

"To date, eight countries are expected to be represented by senior officials. There are a total of thirty-two countries, but there is still time, and we hope that the range of participants will be expanded to include other states," Ushakov added.

The aide reported that Russia, as the host of the summit, had invited the leaders of its closest neighbors, specifically the CIS countries, to participate in the meeting. "All of them have confirmed their participation," he stated. "We have also invited the current chairs of influential regional integration organizations in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In addition to state leaders and senior officials, the summit will, as usual, be attended by the secretaries-general of the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Union State, and the president of the New BRICS Development Bank," Ushakov added.

The aide emphasized that "the high level of participation and wide geographical representation at the Kazan summit reflects the significance and role of BRICS on the global stage and highlights the growing interest from countries that pursue independent and self-sufficient foreign policies in joining the association." He also noted that there is already a specific plan in place for the summit.