Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for South Africa tomorrow to attend the 5th BRICS Summit to be held in Durban on the 26th and 27th next week. Dr. Singh, visiting Durban at the invitation of South African President Jacob Zuma, will be joined by BRICS leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi jingping and President of Brazil Dilma Roussef. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also hand over the BRICS Chairmanship to South Africa at the Duban Summit. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, National Security Advisor Shivshanker Menon and a high level business delegation are accompanying the Prime Minister. During his four-day visit Dr. Singh will also hold bilateral talks with the Heads of States of various African countries who are also expected to gather at Durban during the summit.

AIR correspondent reports, the BRICS mechanism aims to achieve peace, security, development and cooperation. It also seeks to contribute significantly to the development of humanity and establish a more equitable and fair world. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) together command nearly 43 percent of the global population and 25 per cent of global GDP in terms of purchasing power parity.