India identifies 4 deliverables for its tenure as BRICS chair

India on Tuesday said that the collective endeavour of BRICS should be to ensure that global decision-making reflects the contemporary realities. 

In his opening remarks at the meeting of BRICS Foreign Ministers, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, "India has assumed the chair of BRICS on its 15th anniversary. We have come a long way from the first time our foreign ministers met in New York in 2006. The principles that guide our grouping remain consistent over the years."

"We strive for a fair, just, inclusive, equitable & representative multipolar international system, based on international law & UN Charter that recognizes sovereign equality of all States and respects their territorial integrity," Jaishankar said. 

"Over the years, BRICS has evolved its own unique model of engagement that is based on consensus. Our collective endeavour is also to ensure that global decision-making reflects contemporary realities," he said. 

"To this end, we have identified four key deliverables for our chairmanship -- Reform of the Multilateral System, Counter-Terrorism Cooperation, Using Digital and Technological Solutions to achieve SDGs, and Enhancing People to People Cooperation. I am very happy to note that we have made substantial progress on each of these areas in the past five months with the continued cooperation and support of our partners," the minister said.

The virtual meeting was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, South Africa International Relations and Cooperation Minister Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor and Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco.

The BRICS is known as an influential bloc that represents over 360 crore people and its member countries have a combined GDP of $16.6 trillion.

India is chairing for the third time after 2012 and 2016.

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• Jaishankar
• India at BRICS
• UN Charter