BRICS countries to hold virtual meet today; PM Modi and Xi Jinping to face one-another for second time
New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) The leaders of the BRICS association will convene for a virtual summit on Tuesday in order to discuss the prospects of cooperation within the group as well as international issues, wherein Prime Minister Narendra Modi will once again come face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping, just a week after the two met virtually at the SCO Summit.
The summit will be chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin as Moscow holds presidency in the association this year. At the event, the BRICS leaders will coordinate their positions in light of the upcoming G20 summit, slated for November 21-22.
Apart from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Russian President Vladimir Putin are also scheduled to attend the 12th summit of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping.
The Brics Summit comes at a time when India and China continue to be locked in the bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over six months. PM Modi and Xi Jinping met virtually for the first time amid the standoff on November 10 at the SCO Summit and the Brics meeting will be the second.
“At the invitation of President Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the 12th BRICS Summit hosted by Russia, under the theme ‘Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’ on November 17,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
The MEA said the 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 ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, cooperation in counter-terrorism, trade, health, energy and people-to-people exchanges.
The participants are expected to adopt a number of documents such as the Moscow declaration outlining vectors of cooperation within BRICS as well as the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy Until 2035, which covers trade and investment, digital economy and sustainable development.
Apart from that, the BRICS summit will be devoted to counterterrorism cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking. Moscow will also present the results of its chairmanship, which next year will be assumed by India.
UNI