India to host eighth BRICS summit in Goa
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj also unveiled a logo and a website of the summit
New Delhi: India will host the eighth summit of BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which together represent 42% of the world’s population and more than $16 trillion in GDP—in Goa in October.
This was announced by Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday. She also unveiled the official logo of the summit—a lotus in the national colours of the five member countries.
The logo also incorporates the traditional Indian welcome gesture of namaste in the innermost whorls of the flower. India assumed chairmanship of BRICS from Russia on 15 February and will hold the position till 31 December.
“I congratulate Russian Federation for steering the BRICS process commendably that culminated with the 7th BRICS Summit in the beautiful city of Ufa in July 2015. I am happy to share that the 8th BRICS Summit will be hosted in Goa from 15 October," said Swaraj during an interation with the media on Tuesday.
The minister said the summit would focus on the theme of building “responsive, inclusive and collective solutions for the grouping".
“We will adopt a five-pronged approach during our chairmanship. It will comprise institution building, implementation, integration, innovation, and continuity with consolidation," said Swaraj.
India’s emphasis would be on institution-building and implementation of commitments flowing from past summits, besides exploring synergies among the various existing and established framework mechanisms of the BRICS, she said.
BRICS as a grouping has been pushing for greater economic growth among the member countries and reform of global financial institutions.
It has set up the New Development Bank with headquarters in Shanghai, with India’s K.V. Kamath as its chief.
“We have planned a series of events, including the BRICS Under-17 Football Tournament, BRICS Film Festival, BRICS Wellness Forum, BRICS Youth Forum, Young Diplomats Forum, BRICS Trade Fair, BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave besides a think tank and academic forums," said Swaraj.
“This will give people a greater opportunity to enrich the BRICS process. It would also be an occasion for our BRICS partners to visit different cities and states of India," she added.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!