BRICS Summit 2020 LIVE Updates: PM Modi to Attend Virtual Meet With China's Xi in Attendance

The BRICS is known as an influential bloc that represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world's population.

Russia had expressed concern over the situation in May but had ruled out intervention. However, they said that platforms like SCO and BRICS are important to build trust among partner nations. Speaking to CNN-News 18, Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin had said, “Russia is a trusted partner for both, and our multilateral and bilateral relations with them play a key role in maintaining stability in Eurasia. RIC in this regard is a unique platform that helps to expand common ground, strengthen dialogue and proceed further towards practical cooperation as well as to build trust in the region.”

It is important to note that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi also met in person during the pandemic in Moscow on the sidelines of the SCO ministerial meeting in September where they came out with a 5-point proposal to diffuse the tension along the LAC.

Moscow seems to be continuously playing the role of a silent mediator between India and China during the current crisis.

The BRICS is known as an influential bloc that represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world's population. The BRICS countries have a combined GDP of USD 16.6 trillion.

Counter-terrorism, Trade on Agenda | The MEA said the 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. "India will be taking over the chair 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," the MEA said.

Modi, Xi to Attend BRICS at Russia's Invitation | "At the invitation of President Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the 12th BRICS Summit hosted by Russia, under the theme 'Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth' on November 17," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. 

India-China Border Standoff | The BRICS summit is taking place at a time two of the bloc's members, India and China, are locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over six months. Both Modi and Xi had come face-to-face virtually at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on November 10.

PM Modi to Address BRICS Summit | Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a virtual summit of the influential grouping BRICS today. The summit focuses on cooperation in counter-terrorism, trade, health, energy and ways to offset impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Russian President Vladimir Putin are also attending the 12th summit of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping.