KAZAN, October 24. /TASS/. Bolivian President Luis Arce has arrived in Kazan to take part in the BRICS Summit and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have arrived in Kazan to take part in the 16th BRICS Summit, with an objective of reaching important results in the interests of the people of Bolivia," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Arce is expected to meet with the Russian president on Thursday. The ABI news agency reported, citing Bolivian Ambassador to Russia Maria Luisa Ramos, Arce plans to discuss with Putin a wide range of issues, including such topics as nuclear energy, climate change, and cooperation in the area of education, as well as the lithium contracts and Bolivia’s prospects for joining BRICS. The country’s authorities announced plans to apply for joining the group in June 2023.

Putin and Arce have already met this year: they held bilateral talks on June 6 and took part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on the following day.

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. On the same day, Russia assumed one-year rotating chairmanship of BRICS.