Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived in Kazan, Russia, to attend the 16th BRICS Summit, where he is likely to hold bilateral meetings, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“India values close cooperation within BRICS, which has emerged as an important platform for dialogue and discussion on a range of key issues concerning the global developmental agenda,” Modi said in a statement before embarking on the two-day visit.

The BRIC, as a formal grouping, started after the meeting of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China in St. Petersburg in 2006. It was agreed to expand BRIC into BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010.

In August 2023, it was expanded to welcome five new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

While four of the above joined in January this year, Saudi Arabia has accepted the invitation but delayed formal joining.

At the summit, leaders are expected to adopt the Kazan Declaration, which is likely to outline strategic priorities for cooperation, including economic collaboration, security initiatives, and cultural ties among member states.

The theme of this year’s Summit is ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security.’

Observers see the BRICS summit as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to showcase support from the Global South amid spiralling tensions with the West and help expand economic and financial ties.

Proposed projects include the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network SWIFT and allow Moscow to dodge Western sanctions and trade with partners.