Health

BRICS leaders agree to join forces in fight against Covid

Moscow, Nov 17 (efe-epa).- The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the group of emerging major economies known as BRICS – are calling for joint efforts in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and in the recovery of the world economy.

At the end of the 12th BRICS summit, held remotely on Tuesday, the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin; of China, Xi Jinping; of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro; of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, adopted the “Moscow declaration” and agreed to various strategies of economic cooperation until 2025 as well as the fight against terrorism.

FIGHT AGAINST THE PANDEMIC

In the document, the BRICS Forum leaders pay special attention to the coronavirus pandemic, which has dominated Russia’s rotating presidency, since it not only forced the postponement of the summit for more than half a year, but also forced the bulk of the meetings and activities to be held via video conferences.

The leaders recognized “the role of extensive immunization” in containing the pandemic, and pledged to take steps to “ensure that, when available, it is disseminated in a fair, equitable and affordable basis”.

They highlighted the need for international cooperation to address modern threats, which require “efficient, pragmatic, coordinated and prompt” responses.

BRICS recalled in their joint declaration that during the Johannesburg summit in 2018, they had already proposed the creation of a BRICS vaccine research and development center and called for this initiative’s early implementation.

RESTORING THE ECONOMY

The statement ties pandemic closely to many current economic and financial problems, given its damaging impact on the global economy, health systems, the financial sector and the situation of the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Leaders of the group pledged to boost their efforts to ensure “strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive economic development” in the aftermath of the pandemic.

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