India
Source: infobrics.org

The BRICS Business Forum 2021 & BRICS Trade Fair 2021 were organised in the run up to the BRICS Summit planned for September 2021. The BRICS Business Forum, one of the key events organised by the BRICS Business Council, offers a platform for members of the BRICS Business Community to discuss and deliberate on key economic cooperation areas and make recommendations on intra-BRICS trade and industry issues.

The BRICS Business Forum 2021 & BRICS Trade Fair 2021 are recognized as the most prestigious and the largest platforms for the BRICS companies to meet and network with counterpart businesses from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Mr Amit Yadav, Director General Foreign Trade, Government of India said, "The virtual edition of BRICS Trade Fair is one step in the direction to enhance trade amongst the BRICS nations and forge new alliances. The virtual Exhibition Centre will host exhibitors from across the BRICS nations, wherein they will showcase their products and capabilities, project their achievements, and engage in discussions to advance their business prospects."

The Trade Fair witnessed over 8000 Virtual booth visits by the business delegates, which led to over 2500 business interactions. Also, the virtual exhibition platform witnessed over 3000 Business card exchanges and had representation from varied sectors from the BRICS member countries, with 610 exhibitors from the five countries. The trade fair, which is an initiative of India, was well appreciated by the participating member countries and will help in forging alliance between the buyers & suppliers. The investment lounges from the BRICS member country investment agencies were the highlight of the show.

Tamil Nadu participated as a Partner State at the event and speaking on driving investment in the state of Tamil Nadu in the State investment session, Ms Pooja Kulkarni, MD and CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu, said, "As an agency that monitors and develops policy for investment opportunities, we welcome and look forward to handholding the investors to set up operations in Tamil Nadu, the second-largest economy in India with 8% of the National GDP. To evolve Tamil Nadu into the most preferred destination for investors, we are working towards enabling and accelerating the state's knowledge and innovation ecosystem into India's foremost hub for high-tech industries.

Established in 1992, 'Guidance' is the Government of Tamil Nadu's nodal agency for investment promotion and single window facilitation. We aim to promote Tamil Nadu as the most preferred investment destination by reaching out, helping, and improving the ease & cost of doing business." She further added to creating a conducive environment for Industry and Research Institutions focusing on cutting-edge research across various industries. Additionally, Ms Kulkarni emphasized that priority should be given to deciding on incentives and subsidies to the EV and Electronics Hardware Manufacturing sectors. -----------

Mr Marcos Troyjo, President, NDB at the Plenary Session with BRICS Business Council National Chapter Chairs said, "The alignment of this year's BRICS Business forum with NDB's work underscores the potential we have for further collaborating with the BRICS Business Council. NDB has more than 70 projects in all member countries, and the project approval is nearly US 30 billion dollars. The bank supports strategic infrastructure projects addressing BRICS countries core development needs." "NDB is also contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals and sectors like transport, urban development, irrigation, clean energy, social infrastructure, and environmental efficiency are all within our scope," he added.

Mr Marcos Troyjo further stated, "The NDB enjoys today the highest credit rating assigned to any multilateral bank established solely by emerging economies. Meeting the sustainable development agenda 2030 necessitates large-scale & long-term investments by countries in physical, social & digital infrastructure and therefore, we map the contributions of each of our investments to fulfilling the commitments made by our member countries under the 2030 agenda."

Mr Onkar Kanwar, Chair, BRICS Business Council India Chapter, said, "Sustainability is at the core of NDB's operations as the bank completes its first five-year cycle. It has approved more than 70 projects worth nearly US 30 billion dollars across all BRICS countries. Green and clean energy has always been a key focus on NDB operations, and the bank has approved 15 clean energy projects in the last five years, many of which are focused on renewable energy. We also hope NDB will serve as a catalyst in other priority areas like infrastructure and agribusiness. India is currently in the process of setting up a Development Finance Institution, called National Bank for Financing Infrastructure & Development, which is primarily aimed at funding large infrastructure projects. Learnings from NDB's own experience can be extremely useful in successful operations of the DFI being set up in India."

"Over the years, the New Development Bank has also expanded its network by establishing regional offices in South Africa, Brazil and Russia. We understand that a regional office in India is also under works this year. We are eagerly looking forward to this development. We believe that a local presence of NDB in India would expand the scope of its engagement with Indian businesses as well as create opportunities for expanding the project pipeline for the NDB," he added.

Mr Jackson Schneider, Chair, BRICS Business Council Brazil Chapter, said, "We have noticed an increase in the number of companies seeking ESG certification in Brazil and, according to Bank of America, in the first quarter of 2021 Brazil issued 79% of the total green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds raised in Latin America, which also demonstrates the engagement with this agenda. As a company, we recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and are fully committed to a more sustainable future. To do so, we have included ESG as one of the pillars in our strategic plan 'Fit for Growth', aligning business strategy with social responsibility and environmental practices, to achieve the aviation industry´s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050."

Mr Sergey Katyrin, Chair, BRICS Business Council Russia Chapter, said, "For the BRICS countries, the development of 'digital' is one of the priorities, which is determined by national plans and strategies implemented over the past few years. We are all interested in building a digital economy, digital infrastructure, exporting our products and solutions, ensuring national security, digital sovereignty, which has recently acquired special emphasis. It is extremely important to develop a unified position in the field of cybersecurity and the protection of personal data of its citizens. Acceleration of the process of mutual recognition of electronic documents for entrepreneurs is what business is waiting for today. Even mutual recognition of an electronic digital signature on the scale of the BRICS countries will make a great effect in the medium term."

Capt. Xu Lirong, Chair, BRICS Business Council China Chapter, said, "Adhering to the concept of ecological conservation and green low-carbon circular development, China has implemented a series of policy measures to optimize industrial structure, build a low-carbon energy system, develop green buildings and low-carbon transportation, and establish a national carbon emission permits trading market through technological and institutional innovation. All these efforts are made to ensure that it will achieve the targets of peak emission and carbon neutrality. We can use the BRICS Business Council as a platform to promote sustainable corporate development and business communities in the BRICS countries can strengthen joint technological research, accelerate energy conservation and emission reduction to grasp the market opportunities for new energy to achieve sustainable development of enterprises."

Ms Busi Mabuza, Chair, BRICS Business Council South Africa Chapter, said, "South Africa is in a better position as far as supplies are concerned and the vaccine availability has improved markedly with our government joining hands with the private sector to make it widely accessible. This however is not the case for other parts of the continent. We welcome the $600 million pledge by governments of France, Germany and the US and the World Bank to support Aspen, one of our pharmaceutical companies, to produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccines for the rest of the continent."

India
Source: www.hindustantimes.com

The national security advisers of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping reviewed the regional, global political and security scenario, especially developments in Afghanistan, Iran and West Asia.

A virtual meeting of the NSAs, which was chaired by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, also adopted an action plan for combating terrorism and its financing for consideration by the leaders' summit of the grouping to be held later this year. Meetings of the BRICS' high representatives responsible for national security have become an important platform for exchanging views on political and security issues among member states.

"Today's meeting reviewed the regional and global political and security scenario with particular reference to current developments in Afghanistan, Iran, West Asia and the Gulf and emerging threats to national security, such as cyber security," the external affairs ministry said about the meeting that was held a little more than a week after the Taliban (terrorist organization, banned in Russia.- InfoBRICS) takeover of Afghanistan.

"India raised the issue of cross-border terrorism and activities of groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed (terrorist organizations, banned in some countries.- InfoBRICS), which enjoy state support and threaten peace and security," the ministry said.

The NSAs also discussed cooperation among law enforcement agencies, health safety and healthcare, and counter-terrorism.

As a follow up to the adoption of the BRICS counter-terrorism strategy at the leaders' summit in 2020, the NSAs adopted the BRICS counter-terrorism action plan to be considered at the next summit to be hosted by India, which currently holds the presidency of the group.

The action plan aims to strengthen existing mechanisms to combat terrorism and its financing, prevent misuse of the internet by terrorists, curb travel by terrorists, enhance border controls, protect soft targets, share information, and build capacity.

India
Source: brics2021.gov.in

1. National Security Adviser, Shri Ajit Doval, KC hosted the 11th Meeting of the BRICS High Representatives Responsible for National Security through video conferencing on Tuesday, 24 August 2021.

2. The meeting was attended by H.E. General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, Minister of State and Head of the Institutional Security Cabinet of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, H.E. General Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. Yang Jiechi, Member, Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director, Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and H.E. Ncediso Goodenough Kodwa, Deputy Minister of State Security of the Republic of South Africa.

3. India holds the Chairship of BRICS this year which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the BRICS grouping. The meeting of the High Representatives took place before the Summit Meeting of Leaders of the BRICS Nations that India will host this year, under the Chairship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

4. The meetings of the High Representatives Responsible for National Security have emerged as an important platform for the exchange of views on political and security issues among BRICS countries. Today's meeting reviewed the regional and global political and security scenario with particular reference to current developments in Afghanistan, Iran, West Asia and the Gulf and emerging threats to national security, such as Cyber Security. Other items on the agenda were cooperation among Law Enforcement Agencies, Health Safety and Healthcare, and Counter Terrorism. India raised the issue of cross-border terrorism and activities of groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed which enjoy State support and threaten peace and security.

5. As a follow-up to the adoption of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy at the 12th BRICS Leaders' Summit in 2020, done at the suggestion of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the High Representatives adopted and recommended the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan for consideration by the BRICS Summit. The Action Plan aims to further strengthen existing mechanisms of cooperation in areas such as financing and combating terrorism, misuse of the internet by terrorists, curbing the travel of terrorists, border controls, protection of soft targets, information sharing, capacity building, and regional and international cooperation.

6. Considerable attention was paid to the heightened risk of growth of illegal drug production and trafficking in the region. It was agreed that concerned agencies in BRICS countries will enhance their cooperation in this area. Health Safety and healthcare were also identified as a priority area of cooperation within BRICS in the light of new challenges emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.

7. In the area of Cyber Security, it was agreed to strengthen joint efforts to enhance cooperation by sharing of information and exchange of best practices, combat cybercrimes and capacity building. India had earlier hosted a BRICS Workshop on Digital Forensics in August 2021.

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

1. National Security Adviser, Shri Ajit Doval, KC hosted the 11th Meeting of the BRICS High Representatives Responsible for National Security through video conferencing on Tuesday, 24 August 2021.

2. The meeting was attended by H.E. General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, Minister of State and Head of the Institutional Security Cabinet of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, H.E. General Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. Yang Jiechi, Member, Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director, Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and H.E. Ncediso Goodenough Kodwa, Deputy Minister of State Security of the Republic of South Africa.

3. India holds the Chairship of BRICS this year which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the BRICS grouping. The meeting of the High Representatives took place before the Summit Meeting of Leaders of the BRICS Nations that India will host this year, under the Chairship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

4. The meetings of the High Representatives Responsible for National Security have emerged as an important platform for exchange of views on political and security issues among BRICS countries. Today's meeting reviewed the regional and global political and security scenario with particular reference to current developments in Afghanistan, Iran, West Asia and the Gulf and emerging threats to national security, such as Cyber Security. Other items on the agenda were cooperation among Law Enforcement Agencies, Health Safety and Healthcare and Counter Terrorism. India raised the issue of cross-border terrorism and activities of groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed which enjoy State support and threaten peace and security.

5. As a follow up to the adoption of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy at the 12th BRICS Leaders' Summit in 2020, done at the suggestion of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the High Representatives adopted and recommended the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan for consideration by the BRICS Summit. The Action Plan aims to further strengthen existing mechanisms of cooperation in areas such as financing and combating terrorism, misuse of the internet by terrorists, curbing the travel of terrorists, border controls, protection of soft targets, information sharing, capacity building, and regional and international cooperation.

6. Considerable attention was paid to the heightened risk of growth of illegal drug production and trafficking in the region. It was agreed that concerned agencies in BRICS countries will enhance their cooperation in this area. Health Safety and healthcare were also identified as a priority area of cooperation within BRICS in the light of new challenges emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.

7. In the area of Cyber Security, it was agreed to strengthen joint efforts to enhance cooperation by sharing of information and exchange of best practices, combat cyber-crimes and capacity building. India had earlier hosted a BRICS Workshop on Digital Forensics in August 2021.

India
Source: brics2021.gov.in

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman virtually chaired the second meeting of BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) along with Governor Reserve Bank of India, Shri Shaktikanta Das under the Indian BRICS Chairship here today. This meeting is scheduled ahead of the BRICS Leaders' Summit 2021 to discuss and finalize key outcomes of BRICS finance agenda this year. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa were in attendance.

The Finance Minister discussed with her BRICS counterparts the key areas of intraBRICS cooperation that would be crucial in supporting the recovery of BRICS economies and maintaining macroeconomic stability while protecting against future uncertainties and risks. Smt. Sitharaman also highlighted that BRICS has been playing and will continue to play a crucial role in dealing with crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting, the FMCBGs endorsed the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Statement on Global Economic Outlook and Responding to COVID19 Crisis with an annexure on a snapshot of policy experiences of BRICS in dealing with the economic impact of the pandemic. Smt. Sitharaman, as the chair, remarked that India attaches great significance to presenting this Statement before the global community since it unanimously voices the view of BRICS countries on the critical aspects underpinning current international policy conversations on post-pandemic recovery.

A "Technical Report on Social Infrastructure: Financing and Use of Digital Technologies" was also endorsed. This report is a unique exercise towards collaborative knowledge sharing between BRICS economies on social infrastructure, including on how BRICS governments have leveraged digital technologies to enhance access and improve service delivery, especially in the health and education sectors. The BRICS Finance Ministers also welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the text of Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance (CMAA) in Customs matters, along with deliberating progress made on other custom-related matters.

Governor RBI Shri Shaktikanta Das chaired the discussions on Central Bank issues and their outcomes in the meeting, which included Financial Inclusion, Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) and Information Security Cooperation.

Smt. Sitharaman and Shri Das appreciated the BRICS members for their cooperation and support to the Indian Chair in preparation as well as finalization of the significant and relevant deliverables of BRICS Finance.

Russia
Source: tass.com

"Russia's concerns within the WTO framework are shared by all BRICS partners, in the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Argentina, Paraguay, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Turkey and Taiwan," Maxim Reshetnikov added

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Provisions of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) contradict principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by now and Russia hopes the dispute can be avoided, although the country has solid grounds for grievances, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov told TASS in the interview.

"In principle, if we take a close look at the WTO agreements, we will see that, according to our estimates, the EU's CBAM contradicts them, in particular, such basic principles as "national treatment" and "most-favored nation status," the introduction of import restrictions and many other things. In other words, we have solid grounds to put forward grievances. It is to be hoped that these disagreements will be settled and major disputes will be avoided," Reshetnikov said.

Russia's concerns within the WTO framework are shared by all BRICS partners (Brazil, China, India and South Africa), in the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Argentina, Paraguay, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Turkey and Taiwan, the Minister added.

The full text of the interview is available at the TASS website.

India
Source: infobrics.org

Within the framework of the BRICS BUSINESS FORUM 2021 & BRICS TRADE FAIR 2021 held by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), there was a BRICS Women's Alliance session. In this session participated female speakers only, all the experts were from BRICS countries.

The BRF Global VP from Brazil Grazielle Parenti began the session by encouraging women to help each other and share their experiences. "After a year of pandemic women have been heavily affected by unemployment, it is essential for us to exchange new approaches to close this gender gap in a workplace and in the business", – Parenti said.

The Chairperson of Board of Directors, Global Rus Trade from Russia Anna Nesterova said that despite the fact that this year turned out to be very difficult for the whole world and our dear colleagues from BRICS, all plans outlined within the Russian presidency in BRICS were fulfilled with maximum efficiency.

"It was the BRICS countries which stood the best chance of leadership in the formation of post-COVID sustainable world. The current situation and trend towards isolation have not become an obstacle to the development of partnership between our countries", – Nesterova claimed.

CEO, AV Group of Companies of South Africa Lebogang Zulu said that from her point of view, our countries have done exceptionally well in the political and economic liberation of women. "We feel progress in closing the gender parity", – she said.

Zulu claimed that people want to go further from women empowerment to women lead and added that last year the South African government claimed its support for women's businesses as part of its commitment to ensure gender equality in Africa.

BRICS Women's Business Alliance goes from Women Empowerment to Women Led Development. New Ideas, New Approaches Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Women's economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality, and thereby contributes towards higher economic growth and development of the country. Encouraging more women to participate in economic activities can accelerate economic growth. An IMF study shows that measures to close the gender gap could lead to approximately 6.8% increase in GDP.

Role of businesses in closing the gender gap is extremely important. With one year into inception, the BRICS Women's Alliance is now set to play an important role in furthering women empowerment, especially through several on-ground initiatives. The session will explore some new initiatives, ideas and suggestions towards greater Women Empowerment in BRICS countries. It will also provide a platform to showcase some of the successful programs and initiatives being undertaken in the BRICS countries towards women entrepreneurship and women development.

The BRICS BUSINESS FORUM 2021 & BRICS TRADE FAIR 2021 is the most prestigious and the largest platform for the BRICS companies to meet and network with counterpart businesses from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The BRICS Trade Fair was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a special initiative from India to foster business connections amongst companies from the five countries in 2015. The second edition of the BRICS Trade Fair was organized virtually. The sprawling virtual Exhibition Centre played host to exhibitors from across the BRICS nations, and gave them a productive landscape to showcase their products and capabilities, and project their achievements.

India
Source: tvbrics.com

BRICS BUSINESS FORUM 2021 & BRICS TRADE FAIR 2021, held by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) conducted a "Re-imagining healthcare sector". In this section, medical experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa discussed the healthcare eco-system including health infrastructure, medical and pharmaceutical research.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought out the weak links in the health infrastructure and research space across countries. The speakers agreed that prioritizing healthcare is now an extremely important agenda for the economic prosperity of nations. New technologies and solutions will be extremely critical in managing better health outcomes going ahead. Bridging the healthcare gap requires active participation of the public as well as the private sector. Public-private partnerships could probably be a solution to comprehensively address the issues faced by the healthcare sector, by leveraging on strengths of each partner.

Managing Director of Artemis Medicare Services Ltd. India Dr Devlina Chakravarty said that the question of accessibility to qualified healthcare is still one of the most relevant questions in many countries. All our nations should get together to synergise and make steps forward to improve our healthcare systems.

The Chinese expert, Founder and Chairperson of Board, Meridian Medical Network Corp. Xu Jingjing, shared the experience of her company battling COVID-19 in China. Last year her company created an app for the families in Wuhan, the city where the first outbreak of COVID-19 occurred, so the families can do the self-evaluation on potential COVID symptoms and self-diagnose using the calculations of the app.

"We helped about 40 000 families. So, if the family needed a doctor, the app with the data helped patients reach medical stuff. We got a national award for this data-support healthcare app".

The BRICS BUSINESS FORUM 2021 & BRICS TRADE FAIR 2021is the most prestigious and the largest platform for the BRICS companies to meet and network with counterpart businesses from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The BRICS Trade Fair was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a special initiative from India to foster business connections amongst companies from the five countries in 2015. The second edition of the BRICS Trade Fair was organized virtually. The sprawling virtual Exhibition Centre played host to exhibitors from across the BRICS nations, and gave them a productive landscape to showcase their products and capabilities, and project their achievements.