President Vladimir Putin will attend the 10th jubilee BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which opens in St. Petersburg on Thursday.

Putin’s participation in the forum was announced by speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko on Wednesday. This information was confirmed by Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who told TASS that Putin will hold a number of separate meetings with participants in the forum on its margins.

According to the Federation Council’s press service, around 400 delegates from 16 countries, including Russia, are expected to take part in the forum that will be held on July 11 and 12.

The central topic of the forum will be “The Role of Parliaments in the Strengthening of Multipolarity for Fair Global Development and Security.

” According to the Federation Council speaker, this topic reflects the key present-day challenges. “It meets is among top priorities of Russia’s presidency. We stand for fair and safe development. All the forum’s event center round this,” she stressed.