BRICS Sherpas, Sous-Sherpas hold 1st meeting under India's chairship

BRICS Sherpas and Sous-Sherpas held their first meeting under India's chairship, during which the country presented its priorities in 2021 under the theme -- ''BRICS at 15''.

The meeting held from February 24-26 was chaired by Secretary, CPV and OIA, Sanjay Bhattacharyya and Additional Secretary, Economic Relations, P Harish as India's BRICS Sherpa and Sous Sherpa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

India presented its priorities for its chairship in 2021 under the theme --''BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus''.

The stated priorities of India were -- reform of the multilateral system, counter-terrorism cooperation, using digital and technological solutions for attaining SDGs and enhancing people-to-people exchanges.

The calendar of events for BRICS 2021 was also presented, followed by discussions and feedback sessions.

A series of briefings and presentations were made by various ministries of the government of India on the country's priorities across various thematic areas during its chairship.

These included BRICS counter-terrorism cooperation, agriculture with a special emphasis on sustainable development and digital agriculture, innovation, cooperation, digital health, cooperation in countering the COVID-19 pandemic and traditional medicines, economic strategy partnership and trade agenda, the MEA said.

The Vice President of the BRICS New Development Bank, Anil Kishora, briefed the BRICS Sherpas on the bank's priorities for the year, including opening regional offices in Russia and India, and on the NDB membership expansion, it said.

Cultural and people-to-people engagement was a focus area during the three-day meeting with the chairs of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women Business Alliance, BRICS Academic Forum, BRICS Civil Forum and BRICS Think Tank Council presenting their agenda and planned activities for the year.

The BRICS partners appreciated the theme and priorities selected by India for its chairship year for being timely and relevant, and expressed support for the new initiatives proposed by the country.

The BRICS Sherpas agreed to meet again in two months' time to review the progress made on the discussions and the programme of upcoming foreign and other ministerial meetings, the MEA said.

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