Since 2016, this is the second time Prime Minister Modi will be chairing the BRICS Summit

Under the Chairship of India, BRICS will hold its summit-level meeting on September 9 in a virtual format, a press statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.

The theme for the Summit is ‘BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus’.

India has already outlined four priority areas for its Chairship. These are Reform of the Multilateral System, Counter Terrorism, Using Digital and Technological Tools for achieving SDGs and Enhancing People to People exchanges.

In addition to these areas, the leaders will also exchange views on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other current global and regional issues, the MEA said.

Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the meeting will be attended by Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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, Dr. Sangita Reddy, will present reports on the outcomes pursued this year under their respective tracks to the Leaders during the Summit.

This is the second time Prime Minister Modi will be chairing the BRICS Summit. Earlier, he had chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.

The Indian Chairship of BRICS this year coincides with the fifteenth anniversary of BRICS, as reflected in the theme for the Summit.