ROME, October 24. /TASS/. The BRICS group’s summit in the Russian city of Kazan is a milestone for global politics, Vito Petrocelli, former Italian senator and president of the Italy-BRICS Institute, told TASS.

According to him, the Kazan summit demonstrates that BRICS has become a mature association, capable of engaging different countries and serving as the driving force of a new multipolar world order.

"This summit will make history. Undoubtedly, it’s the most important political event of recent years," the expert pointed out. In his view, applications to join the group and the interest expressed by Turkey and Belarus have strengthened BRICS’ authority. All this makes it clear that "the BRICS agenda is relevant for Europe and it’s possible for a country to be part of the North Atlantic military bloc and share the principles of a new multilateral world order."

The former Italian senator believes the Kazan summit has demonstrated that Russia is not isolated and its leader Vladimir Putin is not alone, despite what the Western media writes. "The Russian president enjoys much broader international support than Western countries," Petrocelli pointed out.

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. On the second day of the event, its participants adopted the Kazan Declaration, focusing on the group’s development, global issues and the need to resolve regional crises, including in Ukraine and the Middle East.

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 is the first to be attended by the new members of the association.