September 06, 2017

9th BRICS Summit 2017 Important Highlights

BRICS is the acronym for an association of 5 major emerging national economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
BRICS Summit is an annual international relations conference attended by the heads of BRICS member states.
All BRICS countries are G20 members and together account for 42.58% of the world's population.
South Africa had joined the forum upon China's invitation in 2010 and the acronym changed from BRIC to BRICS.

Leaders of BRICS Countries :

9th BRICS Summit Highlights

Pak-based terror groups named for 1st time :

For the first time in BRICS history, Terror groups such as LeT and the JeM were named for causing violence in the region.
The summit also saw China acknowledging Pakistan-based terror, despite its rigid stance on Maulana Masood Azhar.

To boost commercial ties among BRICS nations, 4 Agreements were signed during this summit. They are :

BRICS Action Agenda on Economic and Trade Cooperation
BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation(2017-2020)
MoU between BRICS Business Council and New Development Bank on Strategic Cooperation
Strategic Framework of BRICS Customs Cooperation

PM Modi, in his statement at the plenary session of the BRICS summit, talked about furthering cooperation in key areas such as agriculture, energy, environment, climate change, sports & culture.
He also shared details about India’s continuous efforts to eradicate poverty, ensure better healthcare, food security, sanitation & education.
Modi's 10-Commitments

Modi suggested 10 commitments to be made by the BRICS nations, including counter-terrorism efforts, for their role in global transformation.
The commitments included creating a safer world, creating a greener world, creating an enabled work, creating an inclusive world, creating a digital world, creating a healthier world, creating an equitable world, creating a connected world and creating a harmonious world.

Modi and Russian President Putin met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
This was Modi's first bilateral meeting since his arrival.
Both leaders discussed ways for boosting bilateral trade and investment along with the security situation in Afghanistan.
They also discussed several other issues like the cooperation in the oil and natural gas sector, about how they should work together to promote trade and investment.

Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first bilateral meeting after the 73-day Dokalam standoff.
Xi Jinping told Modi that "China is prepared to work with India to seek guidance from the five principles of Panchsheel".
He also said a "healthy and stable China-India relationship" is important for both the countries.
During their meeting, Modi congratulated Xi on a "very successful" BRICS Summit.

In a declaration, the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China- South Africa) called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism including countering radicalisation and blocking terror financing sources.
You can read full text of Xiamen Declaration from HERE.

Important Points to Note :

8th BRICS Summit was hosted by India during 15th to 16th October 2016 at Taj Exotica, Benaulim, Goa.
Next year's (10th BRICS Summit) will be hosted by South Africa at Johannesburg. [South Africa has hosted the summit in 2013]