New Delhi, Oct 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin from October 22-23 to attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

The BRICS Summit in Kazan is being held under the chairmanship of Russia, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). During his visit, PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders in Kazan.

The MEA said, "The Summit, themed "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security," will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues.:"

It further said, "The Summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration."

The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St Petersburg in Russia in 2006. After a series of high-level meetings, the first BRIC summit was held in Russia's Yekaterinburg in 2009.

BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers' meeting in New York in September 2010.

BRICS is an important grouping bringing together the major emerging economies from the world, comprising 41 per cent of the world population, having 24 per cent of the world GDP and over 16 per cent share in the world trade.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended an invitation to PM Modi, proposing a bilateral meeting on October 22, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. During the invitation, Putin also referred to PM Modi as a "good friend."

The remarks by Putin came while he met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers' meeting. Putin had a meeting with Doval at the Constantine Palace in Russia's St. Petersberg.

Quoting President Putin, the Kremlin in a statement said, "We will be expecting Mr Modi in Kazan. I also suggest holding a bilateral meeting there on October 22 in order to close the books on our joint work in implementing the agreements reached during his visit to Moscow and outline some prospects for the near future."

"Please extend my warmest regards and best wishes to Mr Modi, my good friend," the statement added.

It will be PM Narendra Modi's second visit to Russia in 2024 as he travelled to Moscow in July to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. During his visit to Russia, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.

PM Modi was also conferred with Russia's highest civilian award, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle at the Kremlin in Moscow. The two leaders visited the Rosatom Pavilion at the VDNKh Exhibition Centre in Moscow. (ANI)

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