Jaishankar attends video-conference of BRICS foreign ministers

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday attended a video conference of the foreign ministers of BRICS, a bloc of five leading nations, with a focus on deepening mutual cooperation in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) is an influential bloc that represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world population, and has a combined GDP of USD 16.6 trillion.

All the BRICS member nations are reeling under the pandemic. The foreign ministers discussed ways to boost cooperation in checking the spread of coronavirus as well as deliberate on key challenges like reviving economic growth, officials said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Brazil's Ernesto Araujowere were part of the conference.