PM Modi underscores importance of circular economy at BRICS Summit

India participated at the 14th BRICS Summit, which was convened under the chairmanship of President Xi Jinping of China, on June 23 and 24 in a virtual format, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa also participated in the Summit on June 23. The High-level Dialogue on global development, the non-BRICS engagement segment of the Summit, was held on June 24 .

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that as BRICS members "we should understand the security concerns of each other and provide mutual support in the designation of terrorists and this sensitive issue should not be politicised." After the Summit, BRICS leaders adopted the ‘Beijing Declaration. The Prime Minister highlighted India’s development partnership with Africa, Central Asia, South East Asia and from the Pacific to the Caribbean on June 24. India’s focus is on a free, open, inclusive and rules-based maritime space; respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations from the Indian Ocean Region to the Pacific Ocean and reform of multilateral system as large parts of Asia and all of Africa and Latin America have no voice in global decision-making.

The Prime Minister noted the importance of a circular economy and invited citizens of participating countries to join the Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE) campaign. The participating guest countries were Algeria, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Earlier, in the keynote speech delivered at the Opening Ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on June 22. The Prime Minister appreciated BRICS Business Council and BRICS Women Business Alliance, which continued their work despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister also suggested the BRICS business community to further cooperate in the field of technology-based solutions for social and economic challenges, Startups and MSMEs.

Read:BRICS summit: Cooperation between member countries can help global post Covid recovery, says Modi

India participated at the 14th BRICS Summit, which was convened under the chairmanship of President Xi Jinping of China, on June 23 and 24 in a virtual format, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa also participated in the Summit on June 23. The High-level Dialogue on global development, the non-BRICS engagement segment of the Summit, was held on June 24 .

On June 23, the leaders held discussions on counter-terrorism, trade, health, traditional medicine, environment, science, technology and innovation, agriculture, technical and vocational education & training and also key issues in the global context, including the reform of the multilateral system, COVID-19 pandemic, global economic recovery, amongst others. The Prime Minister called for the strengthening of the BRICS identity and proposed the establishment of an online database for BRICS documents, BRICS Railways Research Network and strengthening cooperation between MSMEs. India will be organising a BRICS Startup event this year to strengthen the connection between Startups in BRICS countries.