President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will travel to the South African capital of Johannesburg to attend the 10th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit on July 25-27 upon invitation; he will also pay an official visit to Zambia on July 28, according to a statement released yesterday by the presidency.

As the term chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Turkey was invited to the 10th Leaders' Summit of BRICS countries, which account for more than 23 percent of the world economy.

President Erdoğan's participation in the summit will be the first high-level contact between the BRICS and Turkey.

As part of the visit, President Erdoğan is anticipated to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of the BRICS member countries and other invited countries, according to the statement.

He is expected to hold bilateral talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil's President Michel Temer and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Talks during the summit will focus on future steps be taken to improve bilateral trade and economy. The leaders attending the summit are also expected to exchange views on regional and global issues. The summit will also be attended by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Erdoğan is expected to meet Guterres in Johannesburg, where the discussions will focus on irregular migration, as well as on Syria, Iraq and Cyprus.

President Erdoğan will be accompanied by Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak. BRICS refers to a consultation and cooperation platform covering Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Republic of South Africa, which are defined as emerging markets. These five countries are G20 members like Turkey.

"BRICS Plus" is a process launched by BRICS in 2017 to increase cooperation with non-member emerging markets and emerging countries, as well as international and regional organizations.

As part of his visit to Zambia, President Erdoğan will exchange views on all aspects of relations between the two countries and on regional and international developments with Zambia's President Edgar Chagwa Lungu during one-to-one and inter-delegation talks. This visit is also of historical significance as it is Turkey's first official visit to this country at the presidential level. It is anticipated that President Erdoğan's visit will enable the relations between Turkey and Zambia to further develop and diversify.