MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24, and the summit participants will exchange views on current global and regional affairs, including the situation in the Middle East, with emphasis on possible BRICS expansion, the Kremlin press service said on Monday.
The Russian presidency is hosting the BRICS summit with the theme Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security.
"During narrow- and expanded-format meetings, the BRICS leaders will exchange views on current items on the global and regional agendas, and will discuss three key areas of cooperation proposed by the Russian presidency, such as politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges," it said.
"They will particularly focus on the possible BRICS expansion through the planned establishment of partner states, a category new to the group," the press service said.
Chairs of the New Development Bank, the Business Council, the Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, and the Women's Business Alliance will deliver reports at the summit.
"It is planned to sum up results of the discussion in the Kazan summit declaration," the press service said.
A meeting in the outreach/BRICS+ format involving representatives of almost 40 countries will be held on the last day of the summit, the press service said. "This includes CIS heads of state, delegations from many countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, and heads of executive bodies of several international organizations," it said.
"They will discuss current international issues with emphasis on the exacerbated situation in the Middle East and interaction between BRICS members and countries of the Global South for the purpose of sustainable development," the press service said.
"The president of the Russian Federation will hold bilateral meetings with practically all leaders attending the summit," it said.