Commenced in 2001, BRICS is an acronym coined to associate five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These BRICS members are essentially known for their significant influence on regional affairs. The 11th BRICS summit was hosted by Brazil since 2009 the BRICS nations have been conducting annual meets at summits.
Hosted by Russia, the 12th BRICS Summit is to be held virtually today because of the COVID-19 pandemic, under the theme ‘Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’.
BRICS Summit:
On the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the event as informed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). MEA said, “During the 12th Summit, held in the backdrop of the 75th Anniversary of UN and in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic leaders would be discussing intra-BRICS cooperation and key issues in the global context, including the reform of the multilateral system, measures to mitigate the impact of the on-going pandemic, cooperation in counter-terrorism, trade, health, energy and people to people exchanges.” The statement also said that after 2012 and 2016, India will be taking the chairship of the BRICS for the third time since its inception.
PM Modi will be facing Chinese President Xi Jinping for the second time after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, amidst the on-going border disputed between the two countries.
Statements by the Russian foreign ministry
The participants of the summit will be discussing the cooperation prospects and the international agenda said the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russian foreign ministry quoted, “The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will discuss the current state of cooperation within the body and its prospects, and they will exchange opinions on the pressing issues on the international and regional agenda. They will recap the results of Russia’s BRICS presidency this year, and will also coordinate positions of the G20 summit, scheduled for 21-22.”
The BRICS summit is being conducted in the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
