NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the 13th BRICS Summit to be held on Thursday in a virtual format, announced the government of India on Tuesday.

The summit will also be attended by leaders from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.

The theme of the summit would be "Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus".

India had outlined four priority areas including reform of the multilateral system, counter terrorism, using digital and technological tools for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and enhancing people to people exchanges.

In addition to these areas, the leaders will also exchange views on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other current global and regional issues, said the statement.

The summit this year coincides with the 15th anniversary of the BRICS.