KAZAN, October 23. /TASS/. As chair of the BRICS Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened a 10-member meeting in Kazan.

Opening remarks by the Russian leader are expected to be followed by a closed-door meeting. Later on Wednesday, the ten BRICS leaders will be joined by their delegations at an extended meeting that will be open to the media.

Also, Putin will hold more bilateral meetings with foreign leaders and the heads of international organizations on Wednesday. The Russian president will talk to reporters after the summit wraps up on Thursday.

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 and the United Arab Emirates became its full-fledged members. The Kazan summit became one of the biggest gatherings of global leaders in years.