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Abhay Kumar Singh, the Indian-origin politician who serves as a deputat (the Russian equivalent of an MLA) in the Kursk city legislature in Russia, on Friday said that the BRICS summit comes at a time when the world is witnessing pressing economic concerns and remains a platform for "mutual cooperation".
He said that member countries in BRICS were building bridges while a lot of other countries were busy building walls on their boundaries. "The BRICS organisation is very important for the world at this time. The world is facing a very crucial moment now. BRICS platform is not a war platform, that is a platform for mutual cooperation of economy, culture, and so on. When a lot of countries are making walls on their borders, BRICS countries are making bridges this time. We are inviting, we are going and we are making friends this time. I think in this period, this organisation is very important for the whole world, Singh told ANI. He said that the bilateral relations between India and Russia were beyond the common notion of friendship since the relationship was traditional. "India and Russia are very old friends. The friendship between India and Russia is not limited to friendship, but now it has become a tradition. A few generations grew up in this friendly relationship. So, I think everything will be alright and when the two leaders meet, I think they will think about how to increase our friendship even in the economy, business and other fields, Singh said. Earlier, South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) president Mtho Xulu on Friday called for proper institutionalisation of BRICS, including the creation of a permanent secretariat, saying the grouping needs stronger mechanisms to drive implementation. What we need to do through an organisation such as this one is that we really have to get to a level where we have a proper institutionalisation of BRICS. I think we are ready for a permanent secretariat where we can drive implementation, Xulu, who is also chairman of the BRICS Trade and Investment Working Group, told ANI. Speaking on Indias BRICS presidency, Xulu said India had played a very tremendous leadership role and successfully brought together the views of member countries. A lot of good negotiations, good leadership that was able to bring all the views from all the countries into one solid annual report which was unanimously adopted yesterday, Xulu said, adding, We congratulate India. It was a good and very impactful leadership and it has set us on a higher level for future growth. Xulu highlighted the long-standing economic relationship between India and South Africa, noting that cooperation between the two countries predates BRICS. India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, bringing together leaders of the expanded grouping to deliberate on issues of global and regional importance. India's Chairship is guided by the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability, with development, sustainability and innovation forming key areas of focus.BRICS has emerged as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South in multilateral institutions. Its agenda covers development, finance, technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges. The grouping currently comprises 11 countries, i.e. Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. (ANI)
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