9th BRICS Summit kicks off in China today

BEIJING - 3 September 2017: The 9th BRICS Summit 2017 is due to kick off later Sunday in the Chinese port city of Xiamen with the participation of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt for the first time ever.

Sisi is among the guests of honor representing five countries; Egypt, Guinea, Mexico, Tajikistan and Thailand.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will inaugurate the BRICS forum which aims to promote economic and trade relations among the developing countries.

The Chinese leader will give a keynote speech at the forum, the head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum's organizer, Jiang Zengwei said at a press conference, adding that world leaders will attend the forum and give speeches also.

As many as 1,200 people including 1,069 chief executive officers from 630 companies from China and abroad will take part in the gathering, noting that foreign attendants will represent the half of the participants.

Zengwei said the BRICS Business Forum this year will be on unprecedented scale as it will make suggestions to help in shaping policies for the governments on the bilateral level and the multilateral level.

Talks during the forum will last for two days in which visions will be exchanged about coordinating policies in trade, investment and financial cooperation.

The BRICS economies contribute 50 percent of the global economic growth as they account for 23 percent of the world economy, 16 percent of all foreign trade and 12 percent of outbound investment.