PM Narendra Modi to visit Russia for 16th BRICS summit from Oct. 22

Bula Devi reports from New Delhi

New Delhi Oct 18:- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Russia for two days from October 22, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the 16th BRICS Summit being held in Kazan. The BRICS Summit is being held this time under the chairmanship of Russia.

During the visit, the Prime Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders at the 16th summit, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The summit, themed ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security’, will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues.

The coming together of all leaders on one platform will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress made so far on the initiatives launched and to further identify potential areas for future collaboration.

The Prime Minister participated in the 15th BRICS Summit, held under South Africa’s chairmanship in Johannesburg, on August 23 last year. During the meeting productive discussions including global economic recovery, partnership with Africa and the Global South were held. They also reviewed the progress made on the BRICS agenda so far.

Prime Minister Modi in his address had called for a strengthened BRICS that would be B for Breaking barriers, R for Revitalising economies, I for Inspiring innovation, C for Creating opportunities and S for Shaping the future.

In his various interventions, the Prime Minister called for setting defined timelines for reforms of UNSC, multilateral financial institutions and of WTO. He exhorted BRICS to build consensus on its expansion and urged BRICS to send a global message of unity and not polarisation.

He proposed creation of a BRICS space exploration consortium and offered Indian Digital Public Infrastructure – the Indian stack to BRICS partners.

Besides, he also proposed undertaking skill mapping, skilling and promoting mobility among BRICS countries, joint efforts of BRICS countries for protection of Big Cats under International Big Cat Alliance, establishing a repository of traditional medicine among BRICS countries and called upon BRICS partners to support African Union’s permanent membership of the G20.

This year on September 12, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Political Bureau and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi in Saint Petersburg on the sidelines of the Meeting of BRICS High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters/National Security Advisers.

The meeting gave the two sides an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which will create conditions to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations, according to MEA.

“Both sides agreed to work with urgency and redouble their efforts to realise complete disengagement in the remaining areas,” MEA added.

NSA conveyed that peace and tranquility in border areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached in the past by the two governments.

Both sides agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not just for the two countries but also for the region and the world. They also exchanged views on the global and regional situation.