We place great deal of importance to BRICS: India

New Delhi, Oct 21: India on Monday said it brings great value to the BRICS and its contributions have played a vital role in shaping the bloc’s efforts in areas such as economic growth and global governance reforms.

The comments by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri came a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Russian city of Kazan to attend the 16th BRICS Summit.

“India brings great value to the BRICS and its contributions have played a vital role in shaping the BRICS’ efforts in areas such as economic growth, sustainable development and global governance reforms,” Misri said.

It will be the first summit of the grouping after it underwent an expansion last year.

The summit will begin on Tuesday and the main day for deliberations will be Wednesday.

“We place a great deal of importance to our involvement and activities within the BRICS as we view it as a key expression of global multi-polarity,” Misri said.

The foreign secretary said the grouping also serves as a vital platform to tackle a range of global challenges, while also contributing to shaping a fairer, more exclusive and open international order.

“The leaders are also expected to adopt the Kazan declaration, which will lay the path forward for the BRICS,” he said.

Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several of his counterparts from the BRICS member countries and leaders invited to Kazan.

The prime minister is set to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which both leaders are expected to deliberate on the conflict in Ukraine.

Last month, Putin proposed a bilateral meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, when National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval called on him in St Petersburg.

Modi visited Moscow in July and weeks later, travelled to Ukraine.

In his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Modi had said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an “active role” to restore peace in the region.

The BRIC, as a formal grouping, started after the meeting of the leaders of Russia, India and China in St Petersburg in 2006.

It was agreed to expand the BRIC into the BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The grouping was expanded last year.