PM Narendra Modi To Visit Brazil On 13-14 November For 11th BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Brazil from November 13-14 to attend the BRICS Summit where deliberations are expected to focus on key areas such as trade, investment and counter-terrorism.

During the visit, the Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

The prime minister will arrive in Brasilia on November 13 for the 11^th BRICS Summit whose theme is ‘Economic Growth for an Innovative Future’, Secretary Economic Relations T S Tirumurti said at a briefing.

The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He will hold bilaterals through the day and then attend the closing ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in the evening along with other BRICS leaders.

Later that evening, the prime minister will participate in a welcome ceremony and a photo-op, followed by a welcome dinner being hosted by President Bolsonaro, Tirumurti said.

A large business delegation from India is also expected to be present during the visit, especially to attend the BRICS Business Forum where the business community of all five countries are represented, he said.

On the second day of the visit, Prime Minister Modi will take part in the BRICS restricted session.

It is expected that the discussions during this session will focus on challenges and opportunities for the exercise of national sovereignty in the contemporary world, Tirumurti said.

The restricted session will be followed by the BRICS plenary session where the leaders will discuss the intra-BRICS cooperation for the economic development of BRICS societies, he said.

The BRICS leaders will also hold a meeting with the BRICS business council, he said.

“During this dialogue, the chairman of the Brazilian BRICS Business Council will submit his report. There will also be another report submitted by the President of the New Development Bank,” the MEA official said.

A BRICS MoU between Trade and Investment Promotion Agencies will be signed and on conclusion of the Summit, the leaders will issue a joint declaration, he said.

Other deliverables expected during the visit include agreement to establish the Women Business Alliance and the launch of i-BRICS—Innovation BRICS Network that will include networking of research institutes like science parks, incubators, accelerators etc., Tirumurti said.

The leaders will also be looking at launching BRICS institutes of Future Networks, the concept of which has been agreed to by the Telecom Ministers in August this year, he said, adding that greater focus will be given in the area of tuberculosis research.

Asserting that there had been significant forward movement in the BRICS grouping on counter-terror cooperation, Tirumurti highlighted that in this area, India has taken the lead to galvanise BRICS.

“We have also worked closely within BRICS to not only take a strong stand against terrorism but also work to bring about focussed consultations on specific aspects related to terrorism,” he said.

This year, the JWG on Counter-terrorism has decided to constitute five sub-working groups on counter-terrorism in the following areas—terrorist financing, use of internet for terrorist purposes, countering radicalisation, issue of foreign terrorists fighters and capacity building, Tirumurti said.

It is expected that India will be chairing the sub group on use of internet for terrorist purposes, he said.

In this context, during the meeting of the NSAs of BRICS last month, NSA has put forward a proposal to host a BRICS Workshop on Digital Forensics, he added.

Brazil is the current chair of the grouping which represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world population and they have a combined nominal GDP of USD 16.6 trillion.