Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the annual summit of BRICS leaders.
The theme for the Summit was 'BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus'.
All the top leaders of the BRICS countries -- Brazil President Jair Bolsanaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping -- attended the meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
PM Modi said India has received full cooperation from all members during its chairship of BRICS. "The theme selected by India for the duration of its chairship is 'BRICS @ 15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus’. These 4 Cs are basic principles of our BRICS partnership," he said. "We will have to ensure that BRICS yields more results in 15 years. The theme that has been chosen by India for its chairmanship, reflects this priority," he added.
PM Modi said despite the coronavirus pandemic, over 150 BRICS meetings & events were organised in this year. "Of these, over 20 were ministerial-level," he said. "We tried to expand BRICS agenda. BRICS achieved many firsts this year. Our Water Resources Ministers will meet in BRICS format for the first time in Nov," he added.
PM Modi further said that the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan has been adopted.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa:
Ramaphosa said BRICS countries we must continue "to safeguard our people's lives, livelihoods, support global economic recovery & enchance resilience of public systems". "Our collected response to COVID19 has demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together," he added.
The only way in which we can respond to the coronavirus pandemic is by ensuring "equal access to COVID19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics," he further said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping:
Xi Jinping said BRICS countries have made "solid" progress in various areas of cooperation "in spirit of pragmatism, innovation and win-win cooperation". "We have supported multilateralism and taken part in global governance in spirit of equity, justice and mutual assistance," he added.
"Over past 15 years, our five nations enhanced strategic communication & political trust in spirit of openness, inclusiveness & equality, respected each other's social system, development & explored sound way for nations to interact with each other," said Xi Jinping.
Since the start of this year, our five countries have maintained the momentum of BRICS cooperation and secured new progress in many areas, said the Chinese President. "As long as we pool our minds and efforts, we can make smooth, solid progress in BRICS cooperation, come what may," he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin:
Vladimir Putin spoke about the ongoing situation in war-torn Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US forces.
"The withdrawal of US forces & its allies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis, and it's still unclear how this will affect global & regional security. It is for good reason that our countries have paid special attention to this issue," said Putin. "Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighbouring countries, a source of terrorism and drug trafficking," he added.
This was the second time PM Modi chaired the BRICS Summit. Earlier, he had chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.
The meeting was also attended by India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, President of the New Development Bank Marcos Troyjo, the pro tempore chair of the BRICS Business Council, Onkar Kanwar and pro tempore Chair of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance, Sangita Reddy.
