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At Brics Summit, PM Modi stresses mutual cooperation for post-pandemic recovery
PM Modi said Brics members have undertaken several institutional reforms within the grouping that increased the effectiveness of the organisation and the membership of the New Development Bank
NEW DELHI: The global economy continues to be affected by the Covid-19 crisis and cooperation among members of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping can bolster post-pandemic recovery, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.
Addressing a virtual Brics Summit alongside the leaders of the four other countries, Modi said mutual cooperation among the member states in areas such as health, customs and space is directly benefiting the lives of citizens.
Noting that the Brics heads of government were meeting virtually for the third consecutive year amid the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said: “Although the outbreak of the pandemic has decreased globally than before, many of its side effects are still visible in the global economy.”
Speaking in Hindi, he added: “Regarding the governance of the global economy, we Brics member states have a very similar approach. So, our mutual cooperation can make a useful contribution in the global post-Covid recovery.”
The members of Brics have also undertaken several institutional reforms within the grouping that have increased the effectiveness of the organisation and the membership of the New Development Bank has also increased, Modi noted.
“There are many areas where our mutual cooperation is directly benefiting the lives of our citizens. Like the establishment of a vaccine R&D centre, coordination between customs departments, establishment of a shared satellite constellation [and] mutual recognition of pharmaceutical products,” he said.
Modi said practical steps such as these make Brics a “unique international organisation whose focus is not limited to dialogue”. The Brics Youth Summits, Brics Sports and increased contacts between civil society organisations and think-tanks have strengthened people-to-people contacts, he added.
The prime minister joined the virtual summit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also participated in the opening ceremony of the Brics business forum on Wednesday, and said India is expected to grow by 7.5% this year, making it the fasting growing major economy on the back of the government’s initiatives in technology-led growth, ease of doing business and the digital sector.
This is the first Brics Summit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, and is being held against the backdrop of continuing tensions between India and China over a military standoff in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control.
