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India will pay attention in the first instance to supporting the interests of Global South countries during its presidency in BRICS in 2026, Ambassador of India to Russia Vinay Kumar told TASS in an interview.
"India, as the BRICS chair in 2026, will seek to leverage BRICS as a platform to reform global financial institutions, promote trade and investment, and advocate for the interests of the Global South," the Ambassador said. Kumar echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement regarding the intention "to define the BRICS in a new form," he told Tass. "BRICS will mean Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability. Just as, during our G-20 chairmanship, we gave priority to the issues of the Global South in the agenda, similarly during our chairmanship of BRICS, we will take this forum forward in the spirit of people-centricity and humanity first," Kumar said, as per Tass. India will have in its focus "the global challenges such as health, technology development, and climate change," the Ambassador stressed. Relevant authorities of India and Russia are discussing simplification of payments for all categories of travelers, Kumar told Tass. "The Indo-Russian working group on Banking and Finance, comprising representatives from relevant ministries and the central boards of both nations, is actively engaged in discussions concerning technical aspects of messaging systems and payment mechanisms to make financial transactions easier for all categories of travelers," the Ambassador said. Further to cash payments, Russian tourists can take advantage of banking services offered by Russian banks VTB and Sberbank in India, he noted. "There are several banks which have branches in India and are currently making transactions easier for a variety of travelers, including students and tourists from Russia," Kumar added. Earlier on August 21, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, where the two leaders reviewed bilateral ties and discussed preparations for the annual summit later this year. Speaking at the meeting, Jaishankar said, "Today's meeting gives an occasion to discuss our political relations as well and also our bilateral ties. ..We now prepare for the annual summit at the end of the year. Our leaders have always given us guidance to take forward our special strategic relationship." (ANI)
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