New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will come face to face at 12th BRICS Summit hosted by Russia tomorrow, this time sharing the virtual platform for the second time amidst the military stand-off between the two countries.
Before this, Xi and Modi were seen together at a virtual session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held on November 10. The two leaders had participated in the virtual interaction at the SCO which was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
PM Modi will also share a virtual platform with the Chinese Premier on November 21-22 for the G-20 summit.
Pertinent to mention here that the border tensions between the two countries since May this year, which further escalated after the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in Eastern Ladakh, have seen no respite despite a series of diplomatic and military level takes.
“At the invitation of President Putin, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be attending the 12th BRICS Summit hosted by Russia, under the theme ‘Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’ on 17 November 2020. The meeting will be held in a virtual format,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
“During the 12th Summit, held in the backdrop of the 75th Anniversary of UN and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders would be discussing intra-BRICS cooperation and key issues in the global context, including the reform of the multilateral system, measures to mitigate the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation in Counter Terrorism, trade, health, energy and people to people exchanges,” the External Affairs Ministry said.
India will also be taking over the chairship of the BRICS, which would be the third BRICS Presidency for India since its inception (after 2012 and 2016) and will host the 13th BRICS Summit in 2021, MEA said in a release.
-ARK
