New Delhi: The 16th BRICS summit ended with the adoption of the Kazan Declaration, outlining key areas of cooperation and the bloc's unified stance on global issues.
The summit, held in Kazan, Russia, saw productive discussions on strengthening multilateralism, counter-terrorism, promoting economic growth and addressing the concerns of the Global South. Leaders of more than 20 nations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian participated in the summit.
The Kazan Declaration adopted the following pointers:
• Voice of Global South: It mentions amplifying the “Voice of Global South”, and “India-Africa Forum Summit”.
• Indian candidacy to Host CoP 33 in 2028: Welcomes India’s candidacy to host COP 33 in 2028.
• International BIG Cat Alliance: Recognizes India’s initiative, International Big Cats Alliance.
• G20 New Delhi Declaration: Welcomes the inclusion of the African Union as a member of the G20 and recognises the power of culture as a catalyst for SDGs, which is mentioned in the New Delhi Declaration.
• BRICS Startup Forum: encourages the establishment of incubation and startup centres to promote innovation, technology, and knowledge transfer. It has appreciated India’s initiative of the BRICS Startup Forum.
• New Inclusion on CCIT and Listing of UN-Designated Terrorists: The Kazan Declaration mentions the cross-border movement of terrorists and the listing of all UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities. It recognises India’s initiative of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan and calls for an expeditious finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
• Digital Health and Traditional Medicine: The declaration acknowledges cooperation in the fields of traditional medicine and digital health.
• Supports India’s initiative of the BRICS R&D Vaccine Center: It expresses support for the BRICS R&D Vaccine Center and calls for further development of the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System. The BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre, launched in 2022, was announced when India held the BRICS chair in 2021.
• Recognises the importance of Digital Public Goods: The declaration recognises the importance of Digital Public Goods, the working group for which was formed under India’s chairmanship of BRICS 2021.
• A new reference on Sovereignty and Integrity in the context of Transport Infrastructure: Respecting the sovereignty and integrity of countries while enhancing transport potential found a reference for the first time in the BRICS document.
• MSMEs: It seeks to strengthen cooperation in the MSMEs sector. This initiative was also launched during India's chairmanship, to encourage the establishment of incubation and startup centres to promote innovation, technology and knowledge transfer.
At the summit, Modi called upon the bloc partners to proactively push for global governance reforms. Recalling the 'Voice of Global South Summits' hosted by India during its G-20 Presidency, he stressed the group must give primacy to the concerns of the Global South.
The PM said that the presence of the New Development Bank including in GIFT City, India has created new values and impacts. The bloc's effort to foster economic growth was also highlighted by him in facilitating agriculture, resilient supply chains, e-commerce and Special Economic Zones.
Underlining the need to prioritise small and medium-scale industries, he said the India-initiated BRICS Startup Forum, to be launched this year, would add significant value to the bloc's economic agenda.
He urged the member countries to join the initiatives launched by India including the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Mission LIFE and Green Credit initiative announced during COP28.
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