BRICS Summit 2021
Points Covered in the Article:
Some Highlights
About BRICS
More Information
The 13th BRICS summit was held on September 9, 2021 in India under the theme BRICS @ 15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus. At its 15th anniversary this year, BRICS summit reviewed the achievements and contributions of BRICS to the global agenda and also to national growth stories of member-states. BRICS has been a beacon of multilateralism based on equality, mutual respect, and trust. As Chair, India committed to work on specific deliverables to enhance intra-BRICS cooperation under the three pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
Some Highlights
Consolidation and stocktaking BRICS leaders took pride in many achievements, including the creation of successful mechanisms, such as the New Development Bank (NDB), the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), the Energy Research Cooperation Platform, Partnership for New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Framework, etc. They welcomed the adoption of the revised terms of reference by Sherpas for guiding BRICS engagement, and committed to preserving and further strengthening the consensus-based working methods in BRICS at all levels which have been the hallmark of cooperation.
India emphasised the principles of three C’s: continuity, consolidation, and consensus in the theme for its chairship this year.
Global health challenges and COVID-19 The leaders acknowledged that in an interconnected and globalised world, no one was safe until everyone was safe, and regretted the glaring inequity in access to vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics, especially for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. They showed satisfaction in intra-BRICS cooperation to strengthen preparedness and response to the pandemic, and welcomed the progress towards the virtual early launch of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre. They supported the progress towards establishing a BRICS ‘integrated early warning system’ for preventing mass infectious diseases risks. They also stressed their commitment to enhance BRICS cooperation to deal with other health challenges, such as tuberculosis (TB), and commended the work done by the BRICS TB Research Network in the context of the pandemic. They also recognised the importance of experience and knowledge-sharing at the BRICS symposium on traditional medicines, the high-level segment on traditional medicines, and the meeting of BRICS’ experts on traditional medicines and encouraged further exchanges.
领英推荐
Strengthening and reforming the multilateral system The leaders endorsed the BRICS joint statement on strengthening and reforming the multilateral system, adopted by the foreign ministers of member-states and, recalled the principles outlined therein. They recalled the UNGA Resolution 75/1 and stressed on reforming the principal organs of the UN. China and Russia highlighted the status and role of Brazil, India, and South Africa in international affairs and supported their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN. They committed to a strong global financial safety net with a quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at its centre, and expressed deep disappointment for not addressing the quota and governance reforms under the 15th General Review of Quotas (GRQ).
They appreciated the IMF’s approval of a general allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs) equivalent to US$ 650 billion, and recognised the urgency to strengthen its capability to transparently meet the financing needs of countries during future crisis. They called for maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of the relevant multilateral instruments in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control for maintaining global stability, international peace, and security.
Peace, security, and counter-terrorism cooperation The leaders reiterated the importance of preserving the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) towards the international and regional peace and stability, and the need to resolve the Iran nuclear issue through peaceful and diplomatic means as per international law. They expressed concern over the increasing misuse of information communication technologies (ICTs) for criminal purposes. They endorsed the BRICS counter-terrorism action plan to implement the BRICS counter-terrorism strategy, adopted by the national security advisors. They were concerned over the serious situation in illicit production and trafficking of drugs worldwide as a threat to public security, international, and regional stability and well-being of humankind. They committed to combating illicit financial flows (IFFs), money laundering, and financing of terrorism, closely cooperating within the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs), and other fora.
Sustainable development and innovative means to achieve it The leaders stressed their commitment to the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development in its three dimensions: economic, social, and environmental, acknowledging the significant role of digital and technological means, such as large-scale e-governance platforms, Artificial Intelligence, etc., for increasing the effectiveness of the BRICS countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognising the importance of agriculture and rural revitalisation in this regard, they reiterated their commitment to enhancing intra-BRICS agricultural cooperation for food security and promotion of comprehensive development of rural areas. They also welcomed the further advancement of BRICS trade and investment cooperation and discussions about BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR) initiatives: BRICS PartNIR Innovation Centre in China and BRICS PartNIR Start-up events in India.
Economic and financial cooperation for sustainable development The leaders recognised the importance of strengthening infrastructure and information-sharing to better identify investment opportunities, leverage private sector investments, and meet infrastructure investment needs of BRICS countries. They stressed to continue the joint efforts on facilitating a conducive environment for enhancing trade among BRICS countries. They recognised the role of New Development Bank (NDB) as vital in tackling health and economic consequences of the pandemic and encouraged the NDB to explore the possibility of financing more social infrastructure projects. They also recognised the importance of strengthening the contingent reserve arrangement (CRA) mechanism, and focused on the implementation of the working mechanism on technical regulations, standards, metrology, and conformity assessment procedures for cooperation in trade among the BRICS member-states.
Cultural and people-to-people exchanges The leaders appreciated the progress in cultural cooperation and emphasised its role in enhancing understanding between people. They expressed their support to China to host Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. They welcomed the outcomes of the BRICS Civil Forum and its recommendations. Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa extended full support to China to hold the 14th BRICS Summit as its Chair in 2022.