KAZAN, October 22. /TASS/. BRICS leaders will make important decisions aimed at strengthening the association's work at the Kazan summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting on the sidelines of the event.

"In Kazan, we will make a number of important decisions aimed at further improving the association's activities and strengthening multifaceted cooperation within its framework," Putin said. Russia is chairing BRICS this year.

According to the Russian head of state, the work at the BRICS Summit will begin already in the evening. "The leaders will communicate over dinner, and that is how we will begin our work," he said.

The 16th BRICS Summit, which is the key event of Russia’s chairmanship in the association, is being held in Kazan on October 22-24. The BRICS group was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining it in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, became its full-fledged members. The Kazan summit will be the first to be attended by the new members of the association. Representatives of over 30 countries are expected to take part. Among the foreign leaders arriving in Kazan are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.