First BRICS Youth Summit kicks off in Kazan

Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, will be hosting the first BRICS Youth Summit on 4-7 July. The summit will have around 300 participants. Following working sessions, the delegates will submit initiatives for experts' consideration on expanding cooperation among the BRICS countries in a number of areas, including the economy, politics, information, science, technology and humanitarian sphere. A separate session will be devoted to energy cooperation.

The summit's programme includes delegates' meetings with Russian and international experts, state officials and business leaders. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov has already delivered a speech to the youth summit's participants.

President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of greetings to the summit's delegates.

Lyubov Glebova, the head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), delivered an address at the opening of the summit. She said that BRICS countries will establish a Network University to introduce unified education standards, programmes and approaches to teaching. She said that the BRICS countries' success will largely depend on the individuals who will be implementing joint projects.

The BRICS Ministers of Youth Affairs Meeting will be held in Kazan on 6 July, where Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will sign a memorandum of understanding on youth policy.

The materials produced during the summit will be later submitted to the heads of agencies in charge of shaping national youth policy.

The Youth Summit got under way in Moscow on 1 July. Then, the delegates headed for Kazan. On 7 July, as soon as the forum is over, the delegates will visit Sviyazhsk, an island town, and Innopolis, Russia's first city for IT-specialists.

"Today, all BRICS countries are keen to expand ties among young people, and this is a key to our future and long-term relations," Sergei Pospelov, the head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, told journalists about the importance of the Youth Summit.