Russia: Belarus President arrives in Kazan to attend 16th BRICS Summit

The BRICS Summit is taking place from October 22-24 in Kazan.

President Lukashenko will join other top leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, among others.

The Plenary Session of the BRICS Summit began with Russian President Putin's address to the world leaders.

During his address, Putin said the group would discuss its expansion at the meeting but that it was important to strike a balance in any expansion, Reuters news agency reported.

During the session held at the Kazan Expo Centre in the Russian city of Kazan, Putin said, "Over 30 countries have expressed the desire to join BRICS."

"It would be wrong to ignore the unprecedented interest of the countries of the Global South and East in strengthening contacts with BRICS," Putin said.

"At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a balance and prevent a decrease in the effectiveness of the BRICS," he said, adding that the grouping would also discuss "acute regional conflicts," the Russian President was cited as saying by Reuters.

Meanwhile, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, shared a joint photo of the leaders of the grouping, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi that was taken ahead of the Summit.

Taking to his X platform, Jaiswal wrote, "Stronger and united together for an inclusive and a multipolar world. A historic moment for the BRICS as the leaders take the first photo of the expanded BRICS family at the XVI BRICS Summit."

Prime Minister Modi and the UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan were seen interacting after the photo session.

A day before, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri highlighted that a focus area for the BRICS summit is establishing modalities and guidelines for implementing a partner country model. He further reiterated that the discussions between PM Modi and President Putin included a partner country model.

The remarks by Misri came while addressing a media briefing on Tuesday.

The BRICS Summit is set to take place in Kazan under Russia's chairmanship on October 22-23.

The Summit, themed "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security," will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues," according to the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)