Today's Edition
KAZAN, RUSSIA (AGENCIES)
Two dozen world leaders are gathering in Russia on Tuesday for the opening of a two-day summit of the BRICS group in the city of Kazan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting a summit of the BRICS intergovernmental organisation, where the summit brings together 24 heads of state and government. It runs until Thursday.
Prominent among the guests is Chinese President Xi Jinping. Representatives from a total of 32 countries will attend.
The original members of BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - have been joined by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran, among others. The status of Saudi Arabia is yet unclear.
Russia, which currently chairs the organisation, announced that Saudi Arabia would be accepted as a member country at the start of the year, but there has been no confirmation from Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia will be represented at the summit by its foreign minister.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Saudi Arabia's status would be cleared up at the summit.
Turkey is to participate as an interested party. Speaking ahead of the summit, Putin said a central aim would be promoting financial cooperation and providing an alternative to the SWIFT network, through which international payments are routed.
Setting up a joint bank is also on the BRICS agenda.
