KAZAN, October 23. /TASS/. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has arrived in Kazan to participate in the 2024 BRICS Summit, a TASS correspondent reported.

Earlier in the year, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Moscow Polad Bulbuloglu said in an interview with TASS that Azerbaijan wanted to join BRICS and in August Baku submitted an official application to gain membership in the organization.

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.