Russia will host this year's BRICS summit       Photo: Sputnik

Moscow, September 3 (RHC)-- A total of 18 of the 36 leaders invited to the BRICS summit in Russia have already confirmed their participation, according to Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov.

The summit will be held in Kazan from October 22nd thru the 24th.  "By the way, 18 of the 36 leaders we invited have already confirmed their participation," Ushakov told reporters.

Apart from the nine leaders of the member states, those from the Commonwealth of Independent States and heads of states who "chair influential regional integration associations in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia" were invited. Leaders of countries aspiring to become members of the group or seeking to engage in any other kind of cooperation were also invited, according to the Russian adviser.

Ushakov noted that most of the events planned by Russia for the first six months of its presidency were successful, totaling about 160 events. Russia assumed the rotating presidency of the BRICS group on January 1 for 2024, starting with the admission of new members.

Thus, Russia planned to organize more than 250 events in 11 regions this year under its presidency.  The BRICS group, initially composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, was expanded this year with the entry of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran. Now the bloc represents almost half of the world's population, 40 percent of global oil production and about 25 percent of goods exports.

BRICS common currency to be discussed soon

According to Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the moment “it is difficult to talk about the possibility and possible date of creating a common currency or payment unit of the BRICS.” However, he indicates that “experts are still working on this initiative.”

Birichevsky explained that “the possibility of creating an infrastructure for cross-border transactions using digital currencies of central banks and other digital tools is being studied.” He also stated that “issues related to the creation of independent and sanctions-resistant payment mechanisms are currently being actively discussed within the BRICS.”

The BRICS, created in 2006, is oriented towards the economy and aims to give more representation and voice in international affairs to developing states that resist the dominance of Western countries, especially the United States.