Pezeshkian due in Russia today for BRICS summit
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will leave Tehran for the Russian city of Kazan today to participate in the 16th summit of BRICS group of major emerging economies.
According to the president’s official website, Pezeshkian will address several meetings including the BRICS’s main meeting and the first session of BRICS Plus.
Iranian president will also hold talks with the leaders of the group’s member states on the sidelines of the event.
According to Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali, Iran and Russia will also sign a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.
Before his departure for Russia, the Iranian president chaired a meeting with the country’s executive officials on Monday, during which they discussed ways to solve the problems and overcome obstacles facing the implementation of the agreements reached between Iran and BRICS’s member states.
The BRICS summit in Russia is scheduled to be held from October 22 to 24 in Kazan.
According to Russian president’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, 32 countries have confirmed participation, with more than 20 heads of state attending.
Ushakov mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to hold around 20 bilateral meetings, suggesting this could become “the largest foreign policy event ever held” on Russian soil.
Iran officially became a member of BRICS at the beginning of this year, five months after it announced its acceptance as a full member into the group along with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have also formally applied, with other countries expressing interest. BRICS was formed by and initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which collectively represent around 40% of the global population, a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and about two-fifth of the world’s population.