KABUL: The 18th annual BRICS summit began today in New Delhi, the capital of India, hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two-day summit is being attended by several leaders of BRICS member states and invited guests, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
BRICS was initially formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but now the group has 11 members and represents about 49 percent of the world’s population and nearly 40 percent of global gross domestic product.
The summit is expected to address a range of issues, including international conflicts, economic cooperation, energy, the war involving the United States and Israel and Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war, and ways to resolve disputes among member states.
BRICS is a grouping of emerging economies that seeks to strengthen economic cooperation while also developing common positions on international political and security issues.