The BRICS summit in Russia will be the "the largest foreign policy event ever held" by Russia, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov has said.
The summit with include 36 countries with over 20 represented by heads of state.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has positioned the BRICS summit as a counterweight to the West.
Attendees include China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, and other global leaders, who arrived in the city of Kazan on Tuesday.
The three-day summit offers a critical opportunity for Putin to push back against U.S.-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the BRICS alliance has been expanding rapidly.
Recent additions include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Countries including Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have also formally applied to join, and others have signaled interest in aligning with the bloc.
Analysts view the BRICS summit as a strategic move by Moscow to strengthen ties with the Global South amid escalating tensions with the West.
The Kremlin aims to use the summit to showcase broad-based international support and deepen economic and financial partnerships with member nations.
One key proposal on the agenda is the creation of an alternative payment system to bypass the SWIFT banking network.
Such a system could help Russia evade Western sanctions and facilitate trade with BRICS members and other interested nations.
In October, Russia announced it would swap chickpeas for Pakistani mandarin oranges under a new barter system launched in response to payment woes caused by international sanctions.
According to the agreement, Russia will provide 20,000 tons of chickpeas in exchange for the same amount of Pakistani rice. Separately, Pakistan will trade 10,000 tons of potatoes and 15,000 tons of mandarin oranges for 10,000 tons of Russian lentils and 15,000 tons of chickpeas.
Putin is slated to conduct around 20 bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including key discussions on Tuesday with China's Xi, India's Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
On Thursday, Putin is scheduled to meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who will be visiting Russia for the first time in over two years.
Guterres has been a vocal critic of Russia's actions in Ukraine.
In the latest development in the war, on Tuesday North Korean troops appeared to have been spotted in Russia.
Russian independent news outlet Astra released a video which it says shows North Korean troops in Russian territory.
On Monday, a report suggested North Korea had also sent fighter pilots who could fly Russian warplanes.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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