New Delhi: The BRICS summit will focus on strengthening ties among the world’s five major economies in key areas such as digital economy, science and technology, and also build mechanisms for counter-terrorism cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday as he left for Brazil to attend the event.
Narendra Modi, who left for Brazil in the afternoon, will be in the country November 13-14 for the 11th BRICS summit.
The prime minister said he will also meet Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to discuss ways to enhance bilateral strategic partnership in the spheres of defence, security, trade, agriculture, energy and space.
“I look forward to exchanging views with other BRICS leaders with the aim to further strengthen intra-BRICS cooperation, particularly on the theme of the summit ‘Economic growth for an innovative future’,” Modi said in his departure statement.
During the summit, the five major economies of the world will also aim to significantly strengthen their cooperation in science, technology and innovation, he said.
The BRICS countries will also look to enhance cooperation on digital economy and build mechanisms for counter-terrorism cooperation within the BRICS framework, Modi said.
“Our business and industry play an important role in Intra-BRICS ties. I will be addressing BRICS Business Forum and interacting with BRICS Business Council and New Development Bank,” Modi informed in the statement.
“BRICS summit will also provide me with the opportunity to hold useful bilateral interactions with leaders of other BRICS countries,” Modi added.
This will be the sixth time Modi will be participating in the BRICS summit, his first being at Fortaleza, also in Brazil in 2014.
The prime minister is scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. He would also attend the BRICS business forum closing ceremony and the ‘closed’ and plenary sessions of the XI BRICS Summit.
In the closed session, the discussions are expected to be focused on challenges and opportunities for the exercise of national sovereignty in the contemporary world.
BRICS is the acronym coined for an association of five major emerging national economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
PTI
