Moscow: India participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting which began in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod on Monday, the first assignment for India’s foreign policy under the historic third consecutive term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), led the Indian side at the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov opened the BRICS Ministerial with a minute of silence in memory of the deceased former Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. He offered condolences to the people of Iran and the families of the victims. South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri and several other distinguished guests participated in the meeting. Heads of delegations also posed for a family photo ahead of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
While sharing the picture of leaders on X, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated, “Heads of delegations take part in the traditional #FamilyPhoto ceremony ahead of the #BRICS Ministerial.” This is the first meeting of foreign ministers since the expansion of BRICS in 2023. The 10 full members of the association include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with new members Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia joining the grouping in 2023.
Russia took over the chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2024.
In his opening remarks at the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting, Sergey Lavrov said, “We are glad to welcome you to one of the oldest cities in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, whose history goes back more than 800 years,” according to the translation of the speech released by Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Today’s meeting will certainly leave a special mark not only in the chronicle of the city’s leading international events but also in the BRICS itself. For the first time, a meeting of the heads of foreign policy departments of the association is being held in a new, expanded composition,” he added. (ANI)
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