Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 9 September, virtually chaired the 13th BRICS summit and said that there is a need to make sure that BRICS, in the next 15 years, becomes more result-oriented.
The prime minister pointed out that BRICS has achieved many achievements in the last decade and a half.
"Today, we are an effective voice for the emerging economies of the world. This forum has also been useful for focusing on the priorities of developing countries," PM Modi said.
"India has received full cooperation from all members during its chairship of BRICS. I thank all members for this," he added.
The theme that India has chosen for its leadership is – 'BRICS at 15 – Intra-BRICS Cooperation for continuity, consolidation, and consensus.
"The four Cs will be pillars of the BRICS partnership," PM Modi further said.
The meeting was attended by the Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, Russia President Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping, as well as President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa.
BRICS Countries Have Become a Force to be Reckoned With: Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the BRICS countries "have supported multilateralism and taken part in global governance in the spirit of equity, justice and mutual justice" and have become an "important force on the international stage to be reckoned with."
"Over the past 15 years, our five countries have enhanced strategic communication and political trust in the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and equality, respected each other's social system and development path and explored a sound way for countries to interact with each other," he said.
"Since the beginning of this year, our five countries, overcoming the impact of COVID, have maintained the momentum of BRICS cooperation and secured new progress in many areas. What has happened shows that as long as we pull our mind and our effort, then we can make smooth, solid and sustained progress in BRICS cooperation," President Jinping said.
Must Ensure Equal Access to COVID-19 Vaccines: Cyril Ramaphosa
Meanwhile, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa called for equal access to COVID-19 vaccines to overcome the impact of the pandemic.
"We must ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics because that is the only way in which we can collectively respond to this pandemic that engulfs the world."Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa President
"We each need to contribute our fair share to the Access to COVID-19 tools accelerator and also support the proposal made by India and South Africa at the WTO over waiver of TRIPS to ensure a rapid expansion of COVID-19 vaccine production across the world," he added.
He also welcomed the decision of BRICS nations' respective health ministers to operationalise a virtual BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre.
PM Modi Appreciated BRICS Partners for Supporting India's Chairship: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a special briefing on the summit, later said the BRICS leaders recognised the role of India "in the many initiatives that were undertaken and many outcomes that were achieved".
"PM Modi conveyed his appreciation to BRICS partners for supporting India's BRICS chairship and maintaining the momentum of intra-BRICS cooperation throughout this year, despite the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic," MEA secretary Sanjay Bhattacharyya was quoted as saying by ANI.
He said four priorities had been outlined by India for its chairship – Reform of multilateral system, Counter-terrorism cooperation, Using technological or digital solutions for attaining SDGs and Enhancing people-to-people engagements.
This is the third time India is hosting the summit, reported The Times of India. Meanwhile, this is the second time that PM Modi is chairing the same, after having chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.
(With Inputs from ANI)
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