BRICS foreign ministers are set to brainstorm ways to counter the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and developments in other global hotspots, during their meeting on Tuesday.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will chair the meeting via video conferencing. Carlos Alberto Franco Franca (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil), Sergey Lavrov (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation), Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, are expected to participate in tomorrow's meeting.

The Ministers are also expected to exchange views on the need for strengthening and reforming the multilateral system with a view to enhancing its capacity to effectively address the diverse challenges of our time and to adapt them to contemporary realities, sustainable development, countering terrorism besides discussing ways to enhance intra-BRICS cooperation, especially people-to-people cooperation.

India has for long batted for greater cooperation among BRICS countries to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

Last November, while participating in the 12th BRICS Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for cooperation in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. PM Modi had said that during its Chairship of the BRICS in 2021, India would focus on consolidation of intra-BRICS cooperation, including in the fields of traditional medicine and digital health, people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges.

According to Russia's Foreign Ministry, the five countries plan to review the status of and prospects for cooperation during this year of India's BRICS Chairship in three main areas – policy and security, economy and finance, culture and humanitarian contacts.

"We support the priorities of the Indian BRICS Chairship under the motto “BRICS @15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus", including strengthening the multilateral system, cooperation in combating terrorism, using digital and technological solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, and enhancing cultural and humanitarian contacts. We share the Chairship's commitment to developing cooperation in healthcare and boosting the role of women in the economy," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement last week.

In the run-up to the Ministerial Meeting, a traditional Meeting of BRICS Sherpas/Sous-Sherpas was convened under India's Chairship from May 25-28.

During the meeting, BRICS partners not only discussed the preparations for the meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers but also negotiated key deliverables for India’s BRICS 2021 Chairship, including outcome documents for the Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

China's Vice Foreign Minister and Coordinator of China's BRICS Affairs, Ma Zhaoxu, who attended the Video Meeting of BRICS Coordinators, said that all parties should prepare well for the BRICS Summit, consolidate BRICS partnership, boost practical cooperation in fields such as anti-pandemic, economic recovery, technological innovation and people-to-people exchanges, promoting steady and continuous progress of BRICS mechanism.

Ma Zhaoxu said that China expects the Formal Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs can give voice on international solidarity against the Covid-19 virus, upholding of true multilateralism, appropriate response to global challenges, and political solution of hotspot issues to safeguard the common interests of emerging markets and developing countries.